1Ti 4:13 | KingComments | STEP | These verses are filled with exhortations. In a direct sense they apply to Timothy, but at the same time they apply to each servant in all times. Therefore also to you now. You also find in it the secret of the personal testimony. You will also find in it the power that you need in your service toward people. In these verses you read how the servant lives in the awareness of grace ( ), how he serves with his spiritual gift ( ) and how he develops himself spiritually ( ). . The first remark has to do with his age. Each age goes together with a certain pattern of conduct. As a young believer it is not appropriate to behave yourself as if you already know a lot of the Bible or as if you already have had a lot of experiences with the Lord. From an older believer a certain knowledge and maturity may be expected. Now Timothy was, according to our conception, not that young anymore. Suppose he was about twenty years old when Paul took him along with him somewhere around the year 50 on his second mission trip ( ). Then here he must have been thirty three years old, which was according to the standards of that time, still young. When Luke calls Saul a young man ( ), he must also have been in his thirties. Timothy ought to behave himself in a way that matches with his age, so that he doesn’t cause despise. This remark is also meant for those who were going to read this letter. His relatively few years of age could possibly cause a feeling of despise to the old class of believers when he would speak authoritatively. Because of his natural timidity ( ) he could be inclined to behave a little bit reticent. That would be damaging for the spiritual welfare of the believers. But Timothy ought not to think that he could expect his commands to be obeyed purely on the ground of his authority. Paul points out to him that he also had the responsibility to be “an example”. His example will be of help for the believers. They could then see how they can manage to bring the commands into practice. He ought to be an example “in speech” and “conduct”. Speech and conduct (or walk) encompasses the whole life. In his words there should not be found insincerity and no recklessness to be heard. That regards both the personal and the public speech. He must choose his words carefully and be careful with it. His conduct covers the whole way of his living. Wherever he goes or finds himself his conduct always ought to be that of a faithful disciple of the Lord Jesus. His contacts with the fellow believers must be “in love, faith [and] purity”. He must not deal out of an emotional impulse. His sincere interest in the wellbeing of the other person must be the result of his love for God that is poured out in his heart by the Holy Spirit ( ). Thereby he can trust in God and in His Word. Others will be able to see the results of his faith in his life. What is rooted in love and faith is also pure. It disgusts everything what is unclean. His contacts with others, especially with somebody from the other sex, must take place in purity. It is in the time we live not an unnecessary luxury to emphasize that. Keep yourself in purity in all aspects of your life. It doesn’t matter whether it is at school or on the working floor or with a certain service for the Lord, or whatever it is. . The exhortation in this verse refers particularly to what Timothy has to do in the meeting and that persistently. He had to “give attention to the [public] reading” again and again. In those days not everyone owns the Holy Scriptures themselves. Therefore the attention to reading aloud was important. The Lord Jesus also read aloud or public ( ; cf. ; ). The attention to reading aloud the Holy Scripture is the foundation of all Christian teaching. It was then the means of passing on the truth. The attention to reading aloud already gives, when it happens and is heard in a spirit of subjection, abundant fruit. After the attention to reading aloud comes “exhortation and teaching”. The ‘exhortation’ is the application to the heart and the conscience of what has been read ( ). That should lead to a certain conduct which is in accordance with that Scripture. It can be a correction of wrong behavior. It can also be an encouragement to continue in some way and not to change the conduct. The ‘teaching’ is the explanation of what has been read aloud so that it is understood. In a gathering where the reading of God’s Word is in the center both aspects are of great importance. As long as Paul has not come Timothy must continue with it. . To encourage this service Paul points to the gift within him. It is not said which gift it is precisely. To have a gift, and each believer has one (so do you), implies the responsibility to use it. Here you read about the danger to neglect it. That can happen in different ways, for example by being indifferent, slackness or by considering other things to be more important. Regarding Timothy, there is a danger in his timidity. Therefore Paul reminds him that according to the prophecies previously made, he was to be called for a special service ( ). Then he reminds him of another peculiarity: the laying on of the hands of the presbytery (or eldership) as a proof of their approval with his service. The laying on of the hands doesn’t mean a consecration or calling, but to identify oneself, to have fellowship ( ; ; ). . By reminding him of these things Paul wants to encourage Timothy. When Paul then says “take pains with these things; be [absorbed] in them”, his exhortation will receive a positive response. Prescribing these things ( ) to others is only effective when he takes them to heart himself. The heart must be involved. To do things as an obligation is not enough if you want your message to be received. It is essential to give yourself entirely to it, to immerse yourself in the message. All your thoughts, time and abilities must be focused on these things. A walk in the Lord cannot remain unnoticed. It makes a profound impression and it radiates authority. Every criticism on your service or age will therefore fall silent. The progress you make in knowing the will of the Lord, in order to practice it in your own life and in the life of the listeners, is a matter that “will be evident to all”. Making progress is not without exertion. The word ‘progress’ describes a vanguard making its way through a difficult terrain or jungle under great effort. But through these efforts you will gain more and more capacity to judge things according to the Scripture and to speak spiritually to the benefit of souls. . Before you are able to serve others you will have to make sure that your own life is in accordance with the truth ( ). Only then you are suited and able to make sure that only the sound doctrine is taught and to detect and reject every deviation. Therefore all that matters is perseverance not to deviate yourself on the one hand and on the other hand continue to teach the sound doctrine without interruption. If you are spiritually active in such a way, it will have beneficial consequences for both you and others. You and those who hear you will then achieve the final destiny safely. The salvation mentioned here is to remain safe through the many dangers on the road to glory. These dangers consist of evil doctrines and practices for which you are warned at the beginning of this chapter. You see that your responsibility as a servant is major, but there is also a major blessing attached to faithfulness. Now read 1 Timothy 4:12-16 again. Reflection: How many and which exhortations are there in these verses?

‏ 1 Timothy 4:13

Exhortations for the Servant

These verses are filled with exhortations. In a direct sense they apply to Timothy, but at the same time they apply to each servant in all times. Therefore also to you now. You also find in it the secret of the personal testimony. You will also find in it the power that you need in your service toward people. In these verses you read how the servant lives in the awareness of grace (1Tim 4:12), how he serves with his spiritual gift (1Tim 4:13-14) and how he develops himself spiritually (1Tim 4:15-16).

1Tim 4:12. The first remark has to do with his age. Each age goes together with a certain pattern of conduct. As a young believer it is not appropriate to behave yourself as if you already know a lot of the Bible or as if you already have had a lot of experiences with the Lord. From an older believer a certain knowledge and maturity may be expected.

Now Timothy was, according to our conception, not that young anymore. Suppose he was about twenty years old when Paul took him along with him somewhere around the year 50 on his second mission trip (Acts 16:3). Then here he must have been thirty three years old, which was according to the standards of that time, still young. When Luke calls Saul a young man (Acts 7:58), he must also have been in his thirties.

Timothy ought to behave himself in a way that matches with his age, so that he doesn’t cause despise. This remark is also meant for those who were going to read this letter. His relatively few years of age could possibly cause a feeling of despise to the old class of believers when he would speak authoritatively. Because of his natural timidity (1Cor 16:11) he could be inclined to behave a little bit reticent. That would be damaging for the spiritual welfare of the believers.

But Timothy ought not to think that he could expect his commands to be obeyed purely on the ground of his authority. Paul points out to him that he also had the responsibility to be “an example”. His example will be of help for the believers. They could then see how they can manage to bring the commands into practice.

He ought to be an example “in speech” and “conduct”. Speech and conduct (or walk) encompasses the whole life. In his words there should not be found insincerity and no recklessness to be heard. That regards both the personal and the public speech. He must choose his words carefully and be careful with it. His conduct covers the whole way of his living. Wherever he goes or finds himself his conduct always ought to be that of a faithful disciple of the Lord Jesus.

His contacts with the fellow believers must be “in love, faith [and] purity”. He must not deal out of an emotional impulse. His sincere interest in the wellbeing of the other person must be the result of his love for God that is poured out in his heart by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5). Thereby he can trust in God and in His Word. Others will be able to see the results of his faith in his life.

What is rooted in love and faith is also pure. It disgusts everything what is unclean. His contacts with others, especially with somebody from the other sex, must take place in purity. It is in the time we live not an unnecessary luxury to emphasize that. Keep yourself in purity in all aspects of your life. It doesn’t matter whether it is at school or on the working floor or with a certain service for the Lord, or whatever it is.

1Tim 4:13. The exhortation in this verse refers particularly to what Timothy has to do in the meeting and that persistently. He had to “give attention to the [public] reading” again and again. In those days not everyone owns the Holy Scriptures themselves. Therefore the attention to reading aloud was important. The Lord Jesus also read aloud or public (Lk 4:16-27; cf. Acts 13:15a; 2Cor 3:14).

The attention to reading aloud the Holy Scripture is the foundation of all Christian teaching. It was then the means of passing on the truth. The attention to reading aloud already gives, when it happens and is heard in a spirit of subjection, abundant fruit.

After the attention to reading aloud comes “exhortation and teaching”. The ‘exhortation’ is the application to the heart and the conscience of what has been read (Acts 13:15b). That should lead to a certain conduct which is in accordance with that Scripture. It can be a correction of wrong behavior. It can also be an encouragement to continue in some way and not to change the conduct. The ‘teaching’ is the explanation of what has been read aloud so that it is understood. In a gathering where the reading of God’s Word is in the center both aspects are of great importance. As long as Paul has not come Timothy must continue with it.

1Tim 4:14. To encourage this service Paul points to the gift within him. It is not said which gift it is precisely. To have a gift, and each believer has one (so do you), implies the responsibility to use it. Here you read about the danger to neglect it. That can happen in different ways, for example by being indifferent, slackness or by considering other things to be more important.

Regarding Timothy, there is a danger in his timidity. Therefore Paul reminds him that according to the prophecies previously made, he was to be called for a special service (1Tim 1:18). Then he reminds him of another peculiarity: the laying on of the hands of the presbytery (or eldership) as a proof of their approval with his service. The laying on of the hands doesn’t mean a consecration or calling, but to identify oneself, to have fellowship (1Tim 5:22; Acts 6:6 ; Acts 13:3; Lev 1:4 ; Lev 4:4).

1Tim 4:15. By reminding him of these things Paul wants to encourage Timothy. When Paul then says “take pains with these things; be [absorbed] in them”, his exhortation will receive a positive response. Prescribing these things (1Tim 4:11) to others is only effective when he takes them to heart himself. The heart must be involved. To do things as an obligation is not enough if you want your message to be received. It is essential to give yourself entirely to it, to immerse yourself in the message. All your thoughts, time and abilities must be focused on these things.

A walk in the Lord cannot remain unnoticed. It makes a profound impression and it radiates authority. Every criticism on your service or age will therefore fall silent. The progress you make in knowing the will of the Lord, in order to practice it in your own life and in the life of the listeners, is a matter that “will be evident to all”.

Making progress is not without exertion. The word ‘progress’ describes a vanguard making its way through a difficult terrain or jungle under great effort. But through these efforts you will gain more and more capacity to judge things according to the Scripture and to speak spiritually to the benefit of souls.

1Tim 4:16. Before you are able to serve others you will have to make sure that your own life is in accordance with the truth (Acts 20:28). Only then you are suited and able to make sure that only the sound doctrine is taught and to detect and reject every deviation. Therefore all that matters is perseverance not to deviate yourself on the one hand and on the other hand continue to teach the sound doctrine without interruption.

If you are spiritually active in such a way, it will have beneficial consequences for both you and others. You and those who hear you will then achieve the final destiny safely. The salvation mentioned here is to remain safe through the many dangers on the road to glory. These dangers consist of evil doctrines and practices for which you are warned at the beginning of this chapter. You see that your responsibility as a servant is major, but there is also a major blessing attached to faithfulness.

Now read 1 Timothy 4:12-16 again.

Reflection: How many and which exhortations are there in these verses?