Exposition of 1 Timothy 4:10
Dec 21, 2013 9:00:02 GMT
Post by Colossians on Dec 21, 2013 9:00:02 GMT
This material is for the teaching of the Body of Christ, however the author reserves copyright over it.
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EXPOSITION OF 1 TIMOTHY 4:10
[1] “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; [2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their cons cience seared with a hot iron; [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. [4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: [5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. [6] If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. [7] But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. [8] For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. [9] This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.”
Paul’s concern is that all in the Body continue in sound doctrine; and in particular the overall doctrine that is “the faith”, for without such one has nothing.
And so he mentions a few evidences of those who depart from the faith, one of them being their commanding to abstain from certain foods, which is contrary to our freedom in Christ.
Appropriately then he concludes with the adjuration that we are to (instead) subscribe to “godliness”, for, he says, it is godliness which brings with it our (abundant) life in Christ both in this life and the life to come.
[10] “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men,
In accordance then with the generality that is “the faith”, he here provides at the same general level a simple, evidence-based summary of “godliness”: it is one’s trusting in the living God, the Saviour of all men, with according persecutions.
Which he also declares in his second letter to Timothy:
“all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” 2 Ti 3:12.
And so he here at v10 reminds us of our endurance in the faith thus far, spurring us on to more of the same by way of tacit appeal to the fact that we will not want any such to be deemed wasted in hindsight.
Which aligns with what our Lord has Himself said:
“[(only)] he that endureth to the end shall be saved” Mt 10:22.
The sense therefore of the relative clause adjunct: “who is the Saviour of all men”, is not that which without notice digresses to an otherwise new topic in ‘universal opportunity’, but rather that which fortifies the current train of thought in providing the primary reason for us to continue to "trust in the living God": there is no-one else worth trusting: He alone is the designated Saviour for mankind.
So Paul is not here saying that anyone can be saved, but simply that any and all saving is performed by the true living God and no-one else.
specially of those that believe”
Having then pointed out that only the living God saves, Paul now ‘drills down’ into the more particular, revealing that that same God is in fact only properly deemed the Saviour of those who actually end up believing.
[11] “These things command and teach.”
Command and teach what?
Well for one thing, what he has just told us at v10: that if one wants to be saved, one must be saved by the true (living) God and no other, and that therefore one’s doctrine must be anchored to the true (living) God and no other.
[12] “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. [13] Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. [14] Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. [15] Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. [16] Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
Aside from the reference to Timothy’s spiritual anointing via the hands of the presbytery, again the focus is sound doctrine.
Specifically, we are again reminded that only those who adhere to such doctrine shall be saved.
In concluding ...
Anti-Calvinists clutch at v10’s “who is the Saviour of all men” as that which supposedly supports their idea that all men are able to come to Christ and that therefore Calvinism’s special election and limited atonement are false.
We have shown however that such rendering is born of fast-food theology – that Paul is rather saying that there is no way for any man to be saved other than by the one true living God in whom we currently trust, and that we are to encourage one another to continue in and herald such doctrine even in the midst of trouble and persecution.
The passage does not even remotely suggest universal opportunity.
Calvinism’s special election and limited atonement remain decidedly intact.
Amen.
______________________________
EXPOSITION OF 1 TIMOTHY 4:10
[1] “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; [2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their cons cience seared with a hot iron; [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. [4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: [5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. [6] If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. [7] But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. [8] For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. [9] This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.”
Paul’s concern is that all in the Body continue in sound doctrine; and in particular the overall doctrine that is “the faith”, for without such one has nothing.
And so he mentions a few evidences of those who depart from the faith, one of them being their commanding to abstain from certain foods, which is contrary to our freedom in Christ.
Appropriately then he concludes with the adjuration that we are to (instead) subscribe to “godliness”, for, he says, it is godliness which brings with it our (abundant) life in Christ both in this life and the life to come.
[10] “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men,
In accordance then with the generality that is “the faith”, he here provides at the same general level a simple, evidence-based summary of “godliness”: it is one’s trusting in the living God, the Saviour of all men, with according persecutions.
Which he also declares in his second letter to Timothy:
“all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” 2 Ti 3:12.
And so he here at v10 reminds us of our endurance in the faith thus far, spurring us on to more of the same by way of tacit appeal to the fact that we will not want any such to be deemed wasted in hindsight.
Which aligns with what our Lord has Himself said:
“[(only)] he that endureth to the end shall be saved” Mt 10:22.
The sense therefore of the relative clause adjunct: “who is the Saviour of all men”, is not that which without notice digresses to an otherwise new topic in ‘universal opportunity’, but rather that which fortifies the current train of thought in providing the primary reason for us to continue to "trust in the living God": there is no-one else worth trusting: He alone is the designated Saviour for mankind.
So Paul is not here saying that anyone can be saved, but simply that any and all saving is performed by the true living God and no-one else.
specially of those that believe”
Having then pointed out that only the living God saves, Paul now ‘drills down’ into the more particular, revealing that that same God is in fact only properly deemed the Saviour of those who actually end up believing.
[11] “These things command and teach.”
Command and teach what?
Well for one thing, what he has just told us at v10: that if one wants to be saved, one must be saved by the true (living) God and no other, and that therefore one’s doctrine must be anchored to the true (living) God and no other.
[12] “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. [13] Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. [14] Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. [15] Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. [16] Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
Aside from the reference to Timothy’s spiritual anointing via the hands of the presbytery, again the focus is sound doctrine.
Specifically, we are again reminded that only those who adhere to such doctrine shall be saved.
In concluding ...
Anti-Calvinists clutch at v10’s “who is the Saviour of all men” as that which supposedly supports their idea that all men are able to come to Christ and that therefore Calvinism’s special election and limited atonement are false.
We have shown however that such rendering is born of fast-food theology – that Paul is rather saying that there is no way for any man to be saved other than by the one true living God in whom we currently trust, and that we are to encourage one another to continue in and herald such doctrine even in the midst of trouble and persecution.
The passage does not even remotely suggest universal opportunity.
Calvinism’s special election and limited atonement remain decidedly intact.
Amen.