1 Timothy 6:11-16

PROPER WALK 1 Timothy 6:11-16

VI. THE MINISTER HIMSELF. 1 Timothy 6:3-21 a

Text 6:11-16

11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. 13 I charge thee in the sight of God, who giveth life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession; 14 that thou keep the commandment, without spot, without reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 which in its own times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16 who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable, whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power eternal. Amen.

Thought Questions 6:11-16

234.

In what sense was Timothy a man of God? Cf. 1 Samuel 2:27 and 2 Timothy 3:17 for an answer,

235.

Are we to infer that money-lovers do not belong to God?

236.

From what is the man of God to flee? Please specify from the text.

237.

It is not enough to turn away from sin, we must turn toward God. Look up the Greek tense in which the verbsflee and follow appear.

238.

How is the word righteousness used?

239.

Explain in a very practical sense the meaning of godliness.

240.

In what way should we pursue faith?

241.

Must we work to obtain love?

242.

Explain the place of patience and meekness in the life of the minister.

243.

Does the fighting spirit have any place in the life of the preacher?

244.

What is the good fight of the faith?

245.

How could Timothy be in present possession of eternal life and yet be admonished to lay hold upon it?

246.

Who called Timothy to eternal life? Where and when? How?

247.

What is the good confession made by Timothy? Prove your answer.

248.

What makes this confession good?

249.

Is this a confession or a profession?

250.

Before whom did Timothy make the good confession? Be specific.

251.

Why the urgency of the charge given in 1 Timothy 6:13?

252.

Show how the one quality of God here given (1 Timothy 6:13) is appropriate. Do the same with the single quality of Jesus (1 Timothy 6:13 b).

253.

What is the commandment of 1 Timothy 6:14?

254.

What could Timothy do that would bring a spot upon the commandment? Who would bring the reproach?

255.

Did Paul expect the second coming of Christ in the lifetime of Timothy? Explain 1 Timothy 6:14 b.

256.

Who is to show what in 1 Timothy 6:15?

257.

Who is the blessed and only Potentate?

258.

If Christ or God only hath immortality, how can we say that man is born an immortal being?

259.

How could 1 Timothy 6:16 refer to Christ, when it states whom no man hath seen, nor can see-'?

Paraphrase 6:11-16

11 Therefore do thou, O servant of God, flee these things; and pursue justice in all thy dealings, piety towards God, the firmest faith in the gospel, love to the souls of men, patience in afflictions, and meekness under provocations.
12 Since these virtues are not inconsistent with courage, combat the good combat of faith, by boldly maintaining the true doctrine of Christ against infidels and false teachers; and, as a conqueror in this combat, lay hold on eternal life, the prize, to the attainment of which thou wast called; and in particular, confess the good confession, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, in the presence of all mankind.
13 I charge thee, in the presence of God, who raiseth all from the dead, to reward every one according to his works, and who, if thou lose thy life in the good combat, will give thee eternal life; and in the presence of Christ Jesus, who witnessed under Pontius Pilate the good confession, and sealed it with his blood.
14 That thou obey this commandment of confessing the good confession, with out spot in respect of the commandment itself, and unblamable in respect of thy performance thereof, which will contribute to preserve the good confession in the world, till the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ himself, to raise the dead, and judge the whole human race.
15 Which appearing in his own season, the season which he himself hath fixed, the blessed and only Potentate in the universe will shew, even the King of kings, and Lord of lords; the King and Lord who rules with irresistible power all other kings and lords:
16 Who alone hath life without either beginning or ending, and dwelleth in light inaccessible to mortals, which therefore no man hath seen, or can see, in this mortal body; to whom be ascribed honour and might everlasting. And to shew that this is the truth concerning the nature of God, I say Amen.

Comment 6:11-16

1 Timothy 6:11. A very powerful positive word is given in this verse. Paul has just discussed certain men of error; he now refers to The Man of God. The use of this expression is not confined to Timothy aloneall Christians are to be Men of God. Cf. 2 Timothy 3:17. We belong to God. Cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. When once we completely awaken to our ownership, we will be ready as Timothy was to follow out the admonitions of this verse. Please notice that Paul does not say to fight but to flee. We are to fight the good fight of the faith, but in the area of temptation we are to do what Joseph did from Potiphar's houserun! None of us are a match for Satan, to will is present, but to do that which is good is not. Do not entertain Satan's suggestions, whether they be in the realm of false doctrine, pride, avarice, or whatever, do not tarry with them, RUN from them, resist and deny them, do not discuss them! The tense of the verb suggests that this be an attitude of conductkeep fleeing. We are not only fleeing from, we are following after. The sad condition of the men described in 1 Timothy 6:3-10 did not develop in one dayneither will the qualities of character here described be ours, without a steadfast pursuit of them. Timothy is admonished to place up before himself, as a runner sets before him a goal, these virtuesand then stretch every nerve to reach them. What are they?:

righteousness:

Put forth every effort to be right before God and man. Righteousness is simply doing that which is right. This is a virtue that we must pursue, or we shall never lay hold upon it. This we do by a study and practice of His Word. We then must give ourselves to the only Power for right doing. Except He strengthens us by His Spirit in the inward man we shall never be righteous.

godliness:

Someone has suggested that the six virtues here listed, i.e.: (1) Righteousness; (2) Godliness; (3) Faith; (4) Love; (5) Patience; (6) Meeknesscould be divided into 3 pairs: (1) Righteousness and Godliness: our attitude toward God; (2) Faith and Love: these are the source of righteousness and godliness; (3) Patience and Meekness: the virtues necessary to live righteously and godly. Perhaps this is trueat least the conclusion is a good one. Is it possible to be godlike? Not without a consistent effort on our part. But we are not called upon to do more than our Saviour didto us are given the same weapons He used in winning the battle of godliness. He condemned sin in the flesh and lived a godly life; this He expects us to do.

faith:

Why does Paul admonish Timothy to follow after faith? Didn-'t Timothy have faith? We are sure that he did. This is an exhortation for the expression and work of the faith already possessedas we say in our day: To have the courage of his convictions. Paul wanted Timothy to live by faith.

love:

What we have said of faith could also be said of love. Each of these virtues are to be activated. Timothy is never to believe he has loved as he could, there is always a fresh expression to be given. We can always go further in devotion to both God and man: see our Saviour ahead of us, beckoning us onward and upward in the path of love.

patience:

What a great and continual need would be found for this quality of character. In Ephesus there was need for patience with the many problems already described in this letter. We shall only have patience in our problems when we have some hope of solution of them. This we find in Christ and His Way of life. Paul does not say for how long we are to be patientit must be a continual pursuit on our part.

meekness:

This is never to be equated with weakness, Meekness is strength under control. Moses was the meekest man on earth. Our Lord was meek and lowly in heart. We could not think of either of these as being weak.

1 Timothy 6:12. Continuing the thought of the proper walk of the man of God, Timothy is urged to contend well in the good contest; or to fight well in the good battle. There is some disagreement as to which figure is usedthe athletic field, or the battle field, In either case Paul's word is the samehe says: Be actively, aggressively engaged in the contest. Feel that you have a personal responsibility in this matter. No one else can take your place. If you hold back, the faith will suffer. The fighting spirit, so much a part of God's man Paul, is so sorely needed today, It would seem that most of God's soldiers are on furlough or most of his athletes have turned professional.

Life eternal is held up as the prize at the end of the race. We are to eagerly reach out to take hold upon it, but not until we have finished the course. Paul exhorts Timothy, that even now he is to stretch forth his hand in eager anticipation of taking hold of the final and highest prize. All during the race, maintain just such an attitude. The prize is well worth the effort; it is unlike the fading leaves of the world's cinder track.
To such a race and to such an attitude, God called you when you became a Christian, when you confessed your faith in the sight of many witnesses. When and where did God call Timothy into the good contest?at Lystra when Paul first preached the gospel in this pagan town. It was just before his baptism, in the presence of the town-people of Lystra, and possibly Derbe and Iconium, that Timothy declared his faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
Paul is saying: let the memory of your confession before men now strengthen your resolve to run and to fight for the one whose name you confessed.

1 Timothy 6:13. Here is something stronger than an exhortation: Paul solemnly charges Timothy with his holy responsibility. In many ways we can consider 1 Timothy 6:11-16 as the climax and conclusion to this wonderful letter. In 1 Timothy 6:13-17 we have the top of the climaxIn the light of all I have previously written in this letter about error and truth, about sin and the Saviour, I charge you. This seems to be the tenor of the thought here. The content of the charge is the central thought, but do not forget the witnesses to it!: God, who gives and preserves the very life you now have, is watching to welcome you at the end of the race. He is there to approve your good efforts all along the track. Our anointed Saviour is also a witness. He knows what it is to pledge Himself and confess His faith and purpose. He did it under far more trying conditions than youbefore Pontius Pilate! Can we fail Him when He did not fail us?

1 Timothy 6:14. Here is the content of the charge: Keep the commandment without spot, without reproach. Timothy is personally responsible for preserving intact the whole gospel, or of keeping the gospel whole. Timothy confessed his faith and confidence in Christ and His work. Paul now urges fulfillment of this confession. We take the word commandment to refer to the faith or the gospel. Without spot refers to any deviation or change, man might make in this perfect message. There are various ways in which our conduct can cast reproach upon the message we preach.

Paul thought of the second coming of Christ as an ever present reality. Should Jesus return while Timothy was preaching in Ephesus, He would find him faithful; ready to give a good account of his stewardship. We like the expression of D. Edmond Hiebert on this pointhe says: While Paul eagerly looked for that event, he never pretended to know the date of the return. The overwhelming magnitude of the Second Coming made it seem near, and shrivel up all intervening time, like some vast mountain, which, as it rears its gigantic peak above the horizon, seems near, though actually is a long distance away. (p. 118, 119)

1 Timothy 6:15. The Second Coming will be a great day of revelation, so very many things will then be revealed; things that are now concealed. One which is not usually mentioned is here emphasized: The Second Coming of Christ will reveal the character of God. Notice, please: (1) He will be seen as the blessed and only Potentate (2) King of kings (3) Lord of lords (4) Who only hath immortality (5) dwells in an unapproachable light (6) whom no man hath seen, nor can see (7) to whom all honor and power are due.

We take the little expression, which in its (his) own times he shall show, to refer to the Second Coming as brought about by God, Only the Father knows the time. Here is a reference to when He shall reveal to man His time and season.

1 Timothy 6:16. In what sense are we to understand the expression: Who only hath immortality? God is the only source of immortality. He only has immortality within Himself. For each of us immortality is given, not so with God (or with the Word Cf. John 1:1).

God covers Himself with glory as with a garment, This light is so intense man can not approach God. When Saul of Tarsus beheld but momentarily a little of the effulgence of the presence of God, he was blinded and thrown to the ground. Because God is a Spirit and man can not, while in this body, see a spirit, no man hath seen God, nor can he hope to see Him while man remains in his earthly tabernacle, Men have seen a physical manifestation of the power of God in the form of Angels, or of some other manifestation. This has been only for man's benefit, God in essence is spiritman cannot see a spirit, therefore indeed no man hath seen, nor can see,
If such a Being possesses the seven qualities just described, we can say with Paul: to whom be honor and power eternal. The amen seals all that has just been said of this great God.

Fact Questions 6:11-16

179.

In what sense was Timothy a man of God? In what sense does this term apply to all Christians?

180.

Specify two things from which Timothy was to flee.

181.

How often is Timothy to flee and follow? Explain in your own words the meaning of the virtues stated in 1 Timothy 6:11.

182.

What is the fight of the faith? Are we to fight a good fight or is the fight good?

183.

If we already possess eternal life, how can we lay hold upon it?

184.

To what was Timothy called? Cf. 1 Timothy 6:12 b. When did Timothy confess the good confession?

185.

Why did Paul give Timothy the charge of 1 Timothy 6:13-14?

186.

What was the commandment?

187.

Did Paul believe there was a possibility of the second coming of Christ in the time of Timothy? Explain.

188.

What is the meaning of the expression: Which in its own times he shall show.

189.

Old Testament references can be found in which each of the seven attributes of God here given are also stated. Cf. (1) Deuteronomy 6:4 (2) Ezekiel 26:7 (3) Deuteronomy 10:17 (4) Isaiah 40:28 (5) Exodus 34:35 (6) Deuteronomy 4:12 (7) Nehemiah 8:6. Please find and read these.

190.

Explain the sense in which God only hath immortality, and the sense in which no man hath seen God.