"The Good Servant of Christ Jesus"
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6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
In Chapter 3 Paul outlines the qualifications of elder and deacon. He gives the church some guidelines as they look for qualified men to help lead the church. As we have come to chapter 4 of 1 Timothy Paul also outlines the job description of an elder but gives some helpful things for the brothers within the church as well. As overseers we must become a “good servant of Christ Jesus.” As men and women look to the leadership within the church hopefully they too will desire to become good servants of Christ Jesus as well. We do this by being trained in the words of God which strengthen our faith, which help us to know truth from the false teaching. We train ourselves for godliness and we do this all through the truth of God’s Word.
Verse 6 = So, tonight I want us to look at what a Good Servant of Christ Jesus is all about. Paul helps us to see here that a “good servant” refers to what an overseer/elder/pastor should look like. Now Paul is specifically addressing Timothy here but this would apply to all church leaders who help in leading the church. Paul says here in verse 6 that if you put “these things,” before the brothers. So, “these things,” refers to what Paul has already mentioned in the previous verses concerning God’s good creation that we read about in Genesis chapter 1 and 2. So, a good servant is devoted to God’s Word. Paul identifies three ways that an overseer proves that he is a devoted servant. Let’s take a look at each of these areas.
1. First of all we see that an overseer must teach the Word of God!
1. First of all we see that an overseer must teach the Word of God!
6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.
This is exactly what Paul has in mind here as he says, “Put these things before the brothers.” A good servant of Christ is one who is able to confront and deal with false teaching and they are able to do this because they know the truth of God’s Word. To put these things involves more than just teaching God’s Word which elders should be able to do however, the elders should also be able to refute anything that contradicts what the Bible says. So, this would include both.
2. The second thing that we see is that an overseer must live the Word of God!
2. The second thing that we see is that an overseer must live the Word of God!
Look at the back half of verse 6.
6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.
Paul helps us to understand here that a good servant is being trained in the words of faith and good doctrine that they have followed. Being trained here means that these men have received food or nourishment. In other words, God Word has been their spiritual diet or food.
4 But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Being nourished or fed by God’s Word is not just about learning so much, but even more importantly following it and living it out for others to see.
3. The Third thing that we see here is that an overseer must reject anything that opposes God’s Word.
3. The Third thing that we see here is that an overseer must reject anything that opposes God’s Word.
7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;
Verse 7 = We now come to verse 7 where Paul describes the errors as irreverent and silly myths. The word “Myths” here emphasizes the untruthfulness of the error. But there are not just any myths. They are seen as godless and profane because they radically are opposite to that which is sacred. These type of myths are literally fit for old women. This was an idiom like our expression today of “old wives fables or stories.” These would have been tales perpetuated by the older women of those cultures as they would sit around weaving fabricated stories.
A good servant of Jesus Christ will not let himself be carried away by irreverent and silly myths. So, as we think about this what should we do about the issue at hand? What is the alternative to paying attention to these godless myths??? Notice here that Paul says rather train yourself for godliness. The Greek word here for train is (gymnazo) where we get our English word for gymnasium. This word helps us to see an athletic image that brings to mind the idea of physical training. There are many people even now days who train in order to win or compete at a certain activity. Paul uses this as an illustration to help us understand that here the objective is training for godliness. The focus is on improving spiritually. Just like someone who is training physically for an event there is much discipline that is involved. So too spiritually speaking there are things that leaders should do and there are things that they must avoid. The words of faith will make Timothy stronger while the irreverent and silly myths will only make him weaker. Paul is calling here for Timothy and the other leaders to lead lives of discipline and to be on guard against anything that opposes God and His Word.
Verse 8 =
8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Paul now sets out to explain why a godly servant would train himself in this spiritual way. While physical training and discipline have value only for this life, spiritual training and discipline have value for both this life and the one to come. Notice that Paul says here that bodily training doe have some value such as living a healthier life, but eventually this life someday will come to an end. The point Paul wants us to see here is that godliness is of way more value and importance than any type of physical or bodily training. Godliness teaches that a person that God will do for their lives what physical training could never do. God takes our lives and makes them new. God takes what is dead and brings life. Paul calls Timothy here to train for godliness, which will help teach to be reminded that he is just a pilgrim passing through this short time on earth and yet calling him to store up treasures for the age to come rather than here on earth.
Verse 9 =
9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.
This is the third time we see that this phrase is used as we saw Paul use this in chapter 1 verse 15. This phrase means that the doctrine or truths presented here deserve credit or full acceptance. These were truths that could be trusted in beyond a shadow of a doubt. Some commentators believe that the word trustworthy is speaking about what follows in verse 10, but more likely it is referring to what Paul has said about godliness in verse 8. So, this phrase, “deserving of full acceptance,” is added twice to Paul’s trustworthy sayings. First in chapter 1 and now here in chapter 4. He does this to emphasize the need for all believers to respond by believing and obeying the teaching.
Verse 10 =
10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
Paul tells us here plainly that we toil and strive or work for that which is everything for the Christian. That is godliness. But why is this so important? Because living a godly life will lead to an eternal life. We don’t just train and work for this life because as Christians we know that this life is just a brief moment and then there is an eternity. Paul explains why he toils and goes through difficult seasons of life and ministry because we have a hope that is set on the living God. The phrase here, “Living God,” is an Old Testament way of referring to God in contrast to dead or false idols.
10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived?
The point here is that God is alive, and God gives life. It is this God who is the Savior of all men, meaning that God can raise anyone from the dead. This does not mean that all will be saved or in belief of universalism.
Paul uses “all people” language elsewhere. Paul states that there should be prayers for all people and that God desires all people to be saved.
So, we as believers are laboring and striving because we know that God is going to come through for us who believe. This is why Paul shows us his confidence that whatever he loses in the struggle he will regain when God’s salvation is complete in the age to come.
Conclusion: A good servant of Christ Jesus is able to feed the sheep God’s Word, but a good servant is not only teaching the word of God, he is living it out daily. He is constantly nourishing himself by the words of faith and of sound doctrine.