Honoring Masters
1 All who are under the yoke as slaves should regard their own masters as worthy of all respect, so that God’s name r and his teaching will not be blasphemed. 2 Let those who have believing masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but serve them even better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved. ,s
False Doctrine and Human Greed
Teach and encourage these things. 3 If anyone teaches false doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord t Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, u 4 he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in disputes and arguments over words. v From these come envy, w quarreling, x slander, y evil suspicions, 5 and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain. ,z 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. a 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. b 8 If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith c and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Fight the Good Fight
11 But you, man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, d endurance, e and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight f of the faith. Take hold of eternal life g to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all, h and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate, i I charge you 14 to keep this command without fault or failure until the appearing j of our Lord k Jesus Christ. 15 God will bring this about in his own time. l He is the blessed and only m Sovereign, the King of kings, n and the Lord of lords, o 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, p whom no one has seen or can see, q to him be honor and eternal power. r Amen. s
Instructions to the Rich
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant t or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things u to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, v to be generous and willing to share, w 19 storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, x so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
Guard the Heritage
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, y avoiding z irreverent and empty speech and contradictions from what is falsely called knowledge. a 21 By professing it, some b people have departed from the faith. c
Grace be with you all.
C. Slaves and masters (6:1–2). Christian slaves are wondering what, in view of their redemption, they still owe their masters. Paul urges slaves not only to consider how their continued—indeed, heightened—service can serve the gospel but also how disrespect toward their masters will not lead to a more consistent Christianity. Instead, it will lead to a slandering of God’s name by those outside the church (6:1). Paul instructs slaves of Christian masters not to “be disrespectful to them because they are brothers” (6:2) but rather to “serve them even better.” In Titus, he will say much the same, calling slaves to “adorn” the gospel through their service (Ti 2:10). Paul calls Christian slaves to a new way of thinking.
6:3–5. The false teaching creates a climate of spiritual disease that has three elements: godlessness, social strife, and a corrupt inner life (see Ti 1:12; 2:12). First, the teaching is contrary to true godliness, pointing people to a focus on something other than Jesus Christ (6:3). Second, the teaching promotes “envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement” (6:4–5). Third, the teaching flows from people who are deluded about their own importance (they are “conceited” [6:4]) and are driven by an appetite for gain (6:5).
6:6–10. In many respects Paul seems to get to the heart of the issue here. Confusion about wealth is a huge problem in this prosperous church. The denunciation of greed among aspiring teachers (6:8–10) follows directly on the heels of instruction to provide “double honor”—that is, twice the pay—for elders who are especially apt at teaching and governing (5:17). The section will close with the only paragraph Paul ever addresses, at least in the writings that have come to us, to the rich about how they are to fit into the household of faith (6:17–19).
B. What makes Timothy wealthy (6:11–16). Paul is worried about whether Timothy will have the boldness to fight the powerful—some in social status, some in eloquence—opponents in Ephesus (6:12). Paul instructs Timothy to pursue a range of virtues to display what “godliness with contentment” (see 6:6)—in a word, what living in Christ—looks like (6:11). Timothy himself is to be the opposite of those who desire the short-term gain that ministry could bring: money and influence. A minister’s wealth and influence are to be found in the virtues traditionally associated with Paul’s teachings and also in the virtues that being in Christ empowers.
6:17. Wealth presents both dangers and opportunities. First, the rich must not be “arrogant,” thinking of themselves as morally superior or more deserving than others (6:17a). Second, they must not “set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth.” It is easy to be seduced into thinking that power and possessions are permanent, or even that they can bestow a kind of immortality. But, Paul warns, wealth is “uncertain.” The only one worth putting hope in is God himself (compare 6:17 with 4:10; 5:5), who alone, as Paul has just noted, possesses immortality (6:15).
6:18–19. Wealth also creates possibilities for cultivating virtue and for benefiting one’s community. Paul asks the Christian rich to be as generous with their resources as their pagan counterparts (6:18). Wealth lies not in possessions but in relationships, for wealth creates the ability to benefit others.
8. CLOSING ADMONITION: OPPOSING SPURIOUS “KNOWLEDGE” (6:20–21)