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| 1 Timothy 4:11 |
These things command and teach.
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1 Timothy 4:11-16
11 These things command and teach.
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.
THE ONLY WAY TO SILENCE CRITICISM
1 Timothy 4:11–16
A paraphrase of the section
of verse:
Make it your business to hand on and to teach these
commandments. Do not give anyone a chance to despise
you because you are young; but in your words and in
your conduct, in love, in loyalty and in purity,
show yourself an example of what believing people
should be. Until I come, devote your attention
to the public reading of the Scriptures, to
exhortation and to teaching. Do not neglect the
special gift which was given to you, when the voices
of the prophets picked you out for the charge which
has been given to you, when the body of the elders
laid their hands upon you. Think about these things;
find your whole life in them, that your progress may
be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to your
teaching; stick to them; for if you do, you will
save yourself and those who hear you.
ONE of the difficulties Timothy had to overcome
concerned his age. We are not to think of him as a
mere youth. After all, it was fifteen years since he
had first become Paul’s helper. The word used for
youth (neote¯s) can in Greek describe anyone of
military age, that is up to the age of forty. But
the Church generally liked its office-bearers to be
people of maturity. The Apostolic Canons laid it
down that a man was not to become a bishop until he
was over fifty, for by then ‘he will be past
youthful disorders’. Timothy was young in comparison
with Paul, and there would be many who would watch
him with a critical eye. When the British politician
the elder William Pitt was making a speech in the
House of Commons at the age of thirty-three, he
said: ‘The atrocious crime of being a young man . .
. I will neither attempt to palliate (păl'ē-āt'--to
make seem less serious) or deny.’ The
Church has always regarded youth with a certain
suspicion, and under that suspicion Timothy
inevitably fell.
The advice given to Timothy is the hardest of all to
follow, and yet it was the only possible advice. It
was that he must silence criticism by conduct. Plato
was once falsely accused of dishonorable conduct.
‘Well,’ he said, ‘we must live in such a way that
all men will see that the charge is false.’ Verbal
defenses may not silence criticism; conduct will.
What then were to be the characteristics of
Timothy’s conduct?
(1) First, there was to be love. Agape, the Greek
word for the greatest of the Christian virtues, is
largely untranslatable. Its real meaning is
unconquerable benevolence. If we have agape, no
matter what other people do to us or say about us,
we will seek nothing but their good. We will never
be bitter, never resentful, never vengeful; we will
never allow ourselves to hate; we will never refuse
to forgive. Clearly, this is the kind of love which
requires the whole of our nature and strength of
character to achieve. Ordinarily, love is something
which we cannot help. Love of our nearest and
dearest is an instinctive thing. The love between
the sexes is an experience which comes naturally.
Ordinarily, love comes from the heart; but clearly
this Christian love comes from the will. It is that
conquest of self whereby we develop an unconquerable
caring for other people. So, the first
authenticating (ô-thĕn'tĭ-kāt')
mark of Christian leaders is that they care for
others, no matter what others do to them. That is
something which any Christian leader quick to take
offence and prone to bear grudges should constantly
bear in mind.
(2) Second, there was to be loyalty. Loyalty is an
unconquerable faithfulness to Christ, no matter what
it may cost. It is not difficult to be a good
soldier when things are going well. But the really
valuable soldier is the one who can fight well with
a weary body and an empty stomach, when the
situation seems hopeless and the campaign seems
pointless and beyond understanding. The second
authenticating mark of Christian leaders is a
loyalty to Christ which defies circumstances.
(3) Third, there was to be purity. Purity is
unconquerable allegiance to the standards of Christ.
When Pliny was reporting back to Trajan about the
Christians in Bithynia, where he was governor, he
wrote: ‘They are accustomed to bind themselves by an
oath to commit neither theft, nor robbery, nor
adultery; never to break their word; never to deny a
pledge that has been made when summoned to answer
for it.’--end quote.
The Christian pledge is to a life of purity.
Christians ought to have a standard of honour and
honesty, of self-control and chastity, of discipline
and consideration, far above the standards of the
world. The simple fact is that the world will never
have any use for Christianity unless it can prove
that it produces the best men and women. The third
authenticating mark of Christian leaders is a life
lived according to the standards of Jesus Christ.
~Barclay Commentary
Now to the commentaries...
These things
command and teach - As important doctrines,
and as embracing the sum of the Christian system. It
follows from this, that a minister of the gospel is
solemnly bound to teach that there is a sense in
which God is the Saviour of all people. He is just
as much bound to teach this, as he is that only
those will be saved who believe. It is a glorious
truth - and it is a thing for which a man should
unceasingly give thanks to God that he may go and
proclaim that He has provided salvation for all, and
is willing that all should come and live.
~Barnes Notes
These things command and teach
- Let it be the sum and substance of thy
preaching, that true religion is profitable for both
worlds; that vice destroys both body and soul; that
Christ tasted death for every man; and that he saves
to the uttermost all them that believe in his name.
~Adam Clarke
These things command and
teach. - What are to be commanded, command,
and what are to be taught, teach; command to refuse
and reject all profane and fabulous [barely
credible] doctrines, and exhort to the
exercise of true godliness, and teach the
profitableness of that, and declare the promises
made unto it, and assert the truth and
acceptableness of them; command, order, and
encourage believers to labour and suffer reproach
for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel, in hope of
enjoying the said promises, and teach them to trust
in the God of their lives, and the Saviour of all
men; and whereas to this authoritative way of
teaching, Timothy's youth might be objected by
himself, and others. ~John
Gill
These things command and
teach. -
He concludes the chapter with an exhortation to
Timothy,
To command and teach these things that he had now
been teaching him. “Command them to exercise
themselves unto godliness, teach them the profit of
it, and that if they serve God they serve one who
will be sure to bear them out.”
~Matthew Henry
These things command and teach
- These truths, to the exclusion of those useless
and even injurious teachings (1Timothy 4:1-8), while
weighing well thyself, charge also upon others.
~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
From the People's New Testament:
These things -
Especially what has been embraced in 1Timothy
4:8-10.
1 Timothy 4:8-10
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.
10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach,
because we trust in the living God, who is the
Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
From the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
and other cross reference works:
1 Timothy 6:1-2
1 Let as many servants as are under the yoke count
their own masters worthy of all honour, that the
name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.
2 And they that have believing masters, let them not
despise them, because they are brethren; but rather
do them service, because they are faithful and
beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things
teach and exhort.
Notice the commentary on, "Count
their own masters worthy of all honour."
Count their own masters worthy
of all honour - Treat them with all proper
respect. They were to manifest the right spirit
themselves, whatever their masters did; they were
not to do anything that would dishonor religion. The
injunction here would seem to have particular
reference to those whose masters were not
Christians. In the following verse, the apostle
gives particular instructions to those who had pious
masters. The meaning here is, that the slave ought
to show the Christian spirit toward his master who
was not a Christian; he ought to conduct himself so
that religion would not be dishonored; he ought not
to give his master occasion to say that the only
effect of the Christian religion on the mind of a
servant was to make him restless, discontented,
dissatisfied, and disobedient. In the humble and
trying situation in which he confessedly was - under
the yoke of bondage - he ought to evince patience,
kindness, and respect for his master, and as long as
the relation continued he was to be obedient.
~Barnes Notes
2 Timothy 4:1-2
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead
at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of
season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine.
Titus 2:15
These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all
authority. Let no man despise thee.
Titus 3:8
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will
that thou affirm constantly, that they which have
believed in God might be careful to maintain good
works. These things are good and profitable unto
men.
1 Timothy 5:7
...after a list of
admonitions
And these things give in charge, that they may be
blameless. ~Treasury of
Scriptural Knowledge and other cross reference works
I want to finish up this study with a
discussion on the phrase in this verse 11 "these
things command." The word, "command" is Greek word
3853 and means to transmit a message, that is, to
enjoin. The word, "enjoin" means, "To direct or
impose with authority and emphasis." We are being
commanded by God directly and through the ministry
to:
1] Hold on to truth, true doctrine and the Word of
God [all one and the same].
2] Reject and avoid all false doctrine and false
teachers.
You see that the word, "enjoin" means, "impose with
authority." This phrase means, according to my
dictionary, "to establish or apply as compulsory."
To "compel" means among other things to exert a
strong, irresistible force on; sway." In the Work of
God this means a couple of things:
1] the church will do all it can to keep false
doctrine from the congregation.
2] the ministry will speak with power and by the
authority of the Word of God and the power of the
Holy Spirit, such that, the congregation will feel
compelled to comply. This feeling, of course,
originates in the heart and mind of the firstfruit
by God through the power of the Holy Spirit. God is
moving the congregation to comply to His will and to
purpose or sanctification of all things God has set
in place. The ministry is one of the tools God uses
to move and encourage the firstfruit to comply to
these spiritual commands and admonitions.
This fact should ignite the Godly principles of
fervency and diligence. Paul is telling
Timothy to teach these things to the congregation.
It follows that they must study and embrace that
teaching.
Notice the commentary on one of the cross-referenced
scriptures above.
Titus 2:15
These things speak and exhort
-Sound doctrine, the doctrine of grace, the
doctrines of salvation and redemption by Christ, of
peace, pardon, and cleansing by his blood; these
speak out clearly, plainly, publicly, boldly, and
faithfully: and the things which become sound
doctrine; the duties of religion suitable to every
age and sex, a denying of ungodliness and worldly
lusts, a sober, righteous, and godly life and
conversation, exhort unto; and encourage the saints
to be zealous of good works, and comfort them with
the expectation of the blessed hope, and glorious
appearance of Christ.
Note:
Interesting point to be doing all things in the hope
and assured expectation of Christ appearing in the
sky. This is a foundational stone in our
10,000-year perspective on this life. If we
are to visualize ourselves already 10,000 years into
the Kingdom, this is only possible if Christ has
returned to Earth to set up that Kingdom.
And rebuke with all authority
- such as imbibe errors and heresies, or indulge to
vice and wickedness, with the authority both of
Christ and his church, in the name of the one [Christ],
and by the order and vote of the other [the
church; ministry], that the reproof may
come with the greater weight; and in a grave and
solemn manner, suitable to the dignity of the
ministerial office and character, and with that
sharpness and severity the offence requires.
Let no man despise thee
- as negligent in the discharge of his office, or as
doing it in a pusillanimous (pyū'sə-lăn'ə-məs--cowardly)
manner, or as behaving in his life and conversation
unworthy of the character he bore, and so is a
direction to himself; or else it may be considered
as designed for the churches in Crete, and the
professors of religion, and to be an instruction to
them to value Titus, and treat him with respect, and
not with contempt; which shows that this epistle was
not written for Titus only, or for his own use, but
for the service of others. The Ethiopic version
reads, "let no man deceive thee".
~John Gill
One last thought on the verse of this
lesson: "These things command and teach" and that is
the fact that by virtue of your putting on Christ
and being in possession of the Holy Spirit and the
Word of God, you are to compel yourself to obey and
study the admonitions Paul is giving to Timothy. |
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