1 Timothy Verse by Verse

Session 10 | 1 Timothy 4:4-12

1 Timothy 4:1-12 | Forthcoming Challenges

• Verses 1-3 – see session 9

• Verse 4 –

  • Paul states that every creature of God is good, yet in the last days it will be taught to abstain from meats (v. 3).

    • If these words describe the latter times of the prophetic age (and not of the church age), then how can it be that nothing is to be refused from among every creature?

    • We have a few options.

      • We can interpret according to Genesis 9:3, which was during a time before Kosher laws of Torah yet there were still clean and unclean animals, as evidenced in the ark.
      • In Acts 10:15 Peter was instructed to eat that which was not Kosher, and this was prior to any revelation of the mystery by Paul (if not to Paul).
      • There is also the possibility that Paul is only speaking of Kosher meats to begin with. That is, the discussion is of meats which God hath created to be received (removing the comma after meats).

  • If we do the easy thing and make this to be the latter times of the church age, then we solve the problem of Kosher foods, since such is unrelated to the body of Christ), but we then must enter into the following problems:

    • The house of God (v. 3:15) becomes the Pauline church, and the Pauline church then becomes the pillar and ground of the truth (v. 15) rather than a new creature built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20).
    • The mystery of godliness (v. 3:16) becomes the Pauline mystery, even though everything that describes it is prophetic (see notes on v. 16).
    • The rapture must lose its imminence since the church is not currently filled with those Forbidding to marry (v. 3) nor teaching that we should abstain from meats (v. 4).

• Verse 5 –

  • Foods which are (or can be) sanctified by the word of God and prayer should be consumed, even when others teach of abstaining from such meats.
  • Note: this was the consensus of rabbis in the Holocaust.

• Verse 6 –

  • In any dispensation, it is valuable to be nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine.
  • In verses 7-10 Paul gives Timothy information about being a good minister of Jesus Christ. It begins with instruction in this verse, namely, to put the brethren in remembrance of these things (the things of verses 1-6).
  • There is a possibility that the brethren is always a reference to Jewish brethren. This would be difficult (if not impossible) to fully prove. It would likely only be true when used with a definite article.

• Verse 7 –

  • Rather than good doctrine (v. 6), some follow profane and old wives fables (ideas with no value). Timothy is instructed to exercise himself unto godliness instead

• Verse 8 –

  • There is a little profit in bodily exercise (Paul is not belittling exercise, simply showing its fleeting benefits).
  • He tells Timothy, in contrast, that godliness not only has a promise of the life that now is (in comparison to bodily exercise), but also a promise of the life which is to come.
  • The reason that this sounds so works based is because Paul is speaking about the last days, and not about the church age.

• Verse 9 –

  • It is difficult to know whether Paul is speaking about the words he has just spoken, or “the Word” in general (see Young’s Literal Translation). In any case, both are worthy of all acceptation.

• Verse 10 –

  • Paul’s longtime labour and suffering reproach was based on a simple fact: his trust in the living God.
  • Their trust was that God is the Saviour of all men. But how can God be the Saviour of all men without some kind of universalism? It is simply because He is the only Savior available to men. Without God, there is no salvation.
  • He is Savior specially of those that believe. This is a way of saying, “God is the only Savior, and He saves those who believe.”

• Verse 11 –

  • We must be careful to recognize that this is a command to Timothy that is specific to him. The church does not have a “replacement set” of the Ten Commandments.

• Verse 12 –

  • Continuing to instruct Timothy, Paul teaches him to live an exemplary life, and not to let others despise thy youth.
  • The word despise is καταφρονέω [kataphroneo], which is an “unending concentration,” or a “fixation.”