1 Timothy Study #8

“Ministry by the Book”

1 Timothy 4:6-16

Study #8 in 1 Timothy Series 

INTRODUCTION:

The phrase “by the book” is an English idiom that means to do something in a correct or proper manner. It refers to completing a task according to the rules and without cutting any corners to save time. We say, “He did it by the book” or, “She carried out her duties by the book.” Language historians tell us that this saying originally referred to the Bible, because the Bible is the ultimate rulebook for those of us who are Christians. For centuries people were made to swear on the Bible in court that they were telling the truth, and it is thought that the original version of the phrase “by the Book” referred more to telling the truth in court rather than its more modern usage of “playing by the rules.”               

TRANSITION:

However, both meanings fit with what we hear Paul telling Timothy in this week’s text. The content of Christian teaching is to be “by the Book,” meaning that it is to be rooted and grounded and governed by the Word of God. But the lifestyle of the Christian leader is also to be “by the Book,” meaning he is to practice the truth of Scripture and live it out in his conduct, speech, and attitudes as well as in his preaching and teaching. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 6: 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.

• “In pointing out these things…” To what things is Paul referring? If you think back to last week’s study, you will remember that in verses 1-5 of this chapter Paul was speaking of things to come. In 4:1 he says, “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.” So, when Paul wrote this, he was relaying a prophetic message from God, speaking of an undated future time when men will turn away from the truth to chase after lies.
• What you may not realize is that in general God gives us prophecy so that we will live better. What do I mean by that? Pick any prophetic passage in the Scriptures and you will notice that it is always followed by a conclusion about godly living, and faithfulness, and being wise in our use of time. What fascinates me is that many Christians today absolutely love to study prophecy. They go to prophecy seminars. They buy books about biblical prophecy and follow the teachings of well-known preachers or conference speakers who regale them with stories about the world to come. But is that why God includes prophecy in the Bible, so that we can be fascinated and entertained with knowing what is coming? NO! He gives us a window into future events so that we will “shape up and fly right,” as my mother used to say.
• “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus.” So, Paul tells Timothy, his protégé, that he needs to pass these teachings on to his people in the Ephesian church, and in so doing he will prove himself to be a good diákonos of Jesus Christ. By the way, as I told you last week, this is the Greek word from which we get our word deacon and means a servant or a minister.
• There is one more point that I would like to make from verse 6 before we move on. Look at the verse again… “In pointing out these things to the brethren…” The Greek word Paul uses that is translated here as “point out these things” is an interesting word. Literally it means, “to lay out before.” Paul is telling Timothy that he needs to instruct the Ephesian Christians in these important truths, but he knows that how we communicate truth is just as important as the actual content of our teaching. This word that Paul chooses does not mean to give orders or to make demands or come down dogmatically like a dictator laying down the law. Rather, it means to counsel, to advise, to suggest in a gentle, humble manner. Christian instruction given in gentleness will always be more effective than coming across like a bully or a know-it-all.
• “…constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.” What defines a good servant of Jesus Christ, a faithful minister of the Gospel? He is being constantly nourished by the truth as revealed in God’s Word and holds fast to sound doctrine. In other words, he “lives by the Book,” the living and abiding Word of God. For a Christian the Bible is like our food. We must partake of it often and deeply. We must chew it well and digest it slowly so that its food value can work its way down into the very fibers of our being.
• So, what have you been munching on lately? Are you nourishing yourself on the Word of God and the sound doctrines and teachings of the Christian faith, or are you taking in a steady diet of television, pop music, Netflix, reality TV, Internet porn, trashy novels, etc.? They say we are what we eat. That is true spiritually as well as physically. I challenge you to give some serious thought to what you are feeding into your life through your eyes and ears.

Verses 7-8: But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; ⁸ 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. 

• “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women.” Maybe you are thinking, “WOW!” Paul really has a thing against old women.” However, I do not think that is it at all. He is just using an old and well-known figure of speech to make his point. Maybe it is a stereotype, or maybe it has a kernel of truth in it, but old ladies are often perceived as sitting around gossiping and chitchatting about nothing of importance. Regardless, Paul’s point is in the first part of this verse, not the last part. “Have nothing to do with worldly fables.” The word Paul chooses here is the word that means “myths.” The ancient world was full of myths and people would wrangle endlessly about their significance. Aesop’s Fables are a good example. While they may have taught some universal moral lessons, they were certainly not on a par with the holy Word of God, the Scriptures. Paul says, “Don’t waste your time on that old stuff.” Literally he says, “Refuse it!”
• J.B. Phillips in his paraphrase of the NT shows a great perspective on these verses: “But steer clear of all these stupid Godless fictions. Take time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit. Bodily fitness has a certain value, but spiritual fitness is essential both for this present life and for the life to come. There is no doubt about this at all, and Christians should remember it. It is because we realize the paramount importance of the spiritual that we labor and struggle. We place our whole confidence in the living God, the Savior of all men, and particularly of those who believe in Him. These convictions should be the basis of your instruction and teaching.”                                                           
• “On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” The word Paul uses here for “discipline” is the word for physical exercise and is the normal term for the physical training of Greek athletes. Real godliness requires spiritual exercise and training in the same way that an athlete builds his body and hones his physical skills.
• “…for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things.” Paul uses that same word a second time, clearly meaning physical exercise. And notice that Paul is not against PE Class! He is just saying that if people were half as concerned about their spiritual health as they are about their physical health, they would be much better off. Nowadays we all know people who have gone nuts about exercise. They join health clubs and spend countless hours on treadmills, stair-steppers, rowing machines and other kinds of bodybuilding equipment. But how much time do they spend reading and studying the Word of God? And how much time do they spend in His service? And how much effort do they put out when it comes time for the church workday? 

Verses 9-10: It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. ¹⁰ 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.

• For the third time in this letter, we hear Paul using the same expression: “It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.” You may recall that he used it in 1:15 and 3:1. In both of those cases a weighty truth statement follows the expression. But here in 4:9 I believe that Paul uses the expression to look backward, not forward. I believe that verse 9 points to what he just declared to be true in verse 8; namely, that “…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.” Paul is saying that this statement is true and should be understood and accepted by every Christian. It is the straight skinny, and an undeniable fact. The time we invest in the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life is time well spent and will bring great benefit in both this life and the life to come.
• “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God.” The “for this” refers to Paul’s efforts to help every believer grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, and to develop those spiritual muscles that will stand them in good stead in this life and for all eternity.
• “…we labor” Paul chooses the Greek word for work that means back-breaking toil. It is the word, kopiáo, which means to grow weary, tired, exhausted (with toil or burdens or grief), to labor with wearisome effort. It is most often used of bodily labor, but here can mean in a physical, spiritual, emotional, and/or mental sense as well. Just so you know… anybody who comes along and tells you that the ministry is easy work is an idiot and does not know what he is talking about!
• “…and strive” Paul here uses the Greek word, agonídzomai, from which comes our English expression, “to agonize” over something. This is a military term meaning “to fight, contend, strive, or compete.” Besides warfare, it is also used for difficult sporting competitions where a victory is hard-fought, and hard-won. So, Paul is not talking about sitting-at-a desk kind of work but digging-ditches-by-hand kind of work; work that is truly exhausting.
• “… because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially believers.” Whenever we hear the word “Savior” our minds automatically think of Jesus Christ who came to be the Savior for the whole world. But here Paul speaks of the living God, the Father Himself being the Savior. What is that all about? First, we need to keep in mind that God the Father is the One who gives life, breath, and existence to all. It is all sourced in Him. This is what theologians call “common grace.” However, the Bible also tells us that God is the Architect of Salvation. Jesus said that He came to do “the will of the Father.” John 3:16 says that God so loved the whole world that He gave His only begotten Son to die for us. And then it says that “whosoever believeth” on Jesus will be saved. That includes anyone who wants to come to Him. The door is wide open. Jesus died on the cross for everyone. But Paul adds this phrase, “…who is the Savior of all men, especially believers.” You see the only ones who receive the gift of salvation are those who put their faith and trust in Christ, those who “believe” in Him. For the rest it is all just theoretical. God is the Savior of everyone, but only believers in Jesus get saved. That is, those who have “fixed their hope” on the Lord Jesus. By the way, this verse is one of the reasons why I am a 4-point Calvinist rather than a 5-point. “…Who is the Savior of all men…” seems to shoot a big hole through the idea of Limited Atonement, but that is a discussion for another time and place. 

Verse 11: Prescribe and teach these things.

• Paul uses two strong imperative verbs (i.e., commands) in this verse. They reemphasize what he told Timothy up in verse 6 about pointing out these biblical truths. (N.B. Later he will drive the nail in even a little deeper in verse 16 but we will have to wait for our next study to see that.)
• “Prescribe” This is the Greek word, parangéllo, and it means “to transmit a message from one person to another, to declare, to announce, to command, order, or charge.” It implies a specific message that meets a specific need.
• “Teach” This is the Greek word, didásko, which means “to teach, to hold discourse with others to instruct them, to explain or expound a thing.” It is the most common word for teaching in the NT and the most general in nature.           

CONCLUSION:

The title of this study is “Ministry by the Book.” In the beginning I talked about the phrase, “by the book.” You all understand the concept. A good military officer is one who knows the rules and enforces them, yet with integrity, mercy and understanding. To say that the captain “goes by the book,” means that he is stern but fair.

Think about another scenario… you want to learn to cook like Julia Childs, so what do you do? You buy her cookbook and follow it to the letter. You cook, “by the book” because you want the recipes to turn out correctly. Of course, if you choose to you can make substitutions and change the relative quantities of ingredients, but if you do, do not be surprised if the recipe does not get the rave reviews for which you were hoping.         

Likewise, in sports it is necessary to compete “by the book.” Our second son, Chris, was a professional athlete, a mixed martial-arts expert. He had rules to which he had to submit if he wanted to compete. Moreover, if the athlete breaks the rules the referee will throw him out and award the fight to his opponent. Athletes must compete “by the book” or they get disqualified.  

In the same way, God has given us a Book and it contains the rules for living, and ministering, and learning to please Him. It is not a Rule Book, per se, and we should not approach it that way. Otherwise, we will end up like the Pharisees. They prided themselves on obeying the Book “to the letter” but completely overlooked the principles and the reasons for the behaviors.         

Here in 1 Timothy Paul reminds Timothy that God’s Word is the Guide for life and for successful ministry. We need to know it, love it, study it, and apply it to every area of our lives. In the Koran of Islam, Mohammed refers to Christians and Jews as “the people of the Book,” meaning the Holy Scriptures. Even he recognized something that many Christians have forgotten; namely, that we have been given the Bible, the Word of God, to be “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.” It is not merely a book of religious stories that men can take or leave. It is God’s love letter to us, and we should read it, and study it, and memorize it, and obey it. The Psalmist put it this way in Psalm 119:9-16, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your Word. ¹⁰ With all my heart I have sought You. Do not let me wander from Your commandments. ¹¹ Your Word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You. ¹² Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes. ¹³ With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of Your mouth. ¹⁴ I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. ¹⁵ I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways. ¹⁶ I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your Word.”