1 Timothy 4:6–10

4:6 “Good servant” refers to a faithful overseer. Although Paul is addressing Timothy specifically in this letter, his instructions by extension apply to all who lead the church by filling the role of elder as outlined in the letter. “These things” refers to what Paul has said in previous verses concerning the goodness of creation as taught in Genesis 1–2. Thus a good servant of Christ Jesus must be devoted to the word of God. Paul identifies three ways in which an overseer proves that he is so devoted.

First, an overseer must teach the Word (v. 6a). This is what Paul means by his command to “put these things before the brothers.” In essence, a “good servant” is one who confronts false teaching with the truth of Scripture. To “put these things” involves not just teaching what the Bible says but also refuting that which contradicts what the Bible says. It must include both.

Second, an overseer must live the Word (v. 6b). On this point, Paul is careful to point out that the good servant is “being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.” “Being trained” means, at its Greek root, to receive food, to be nourished.¹ For the faithful pastor, the Bible is like his food; as Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Being nourished on God’s Word involves not merely learning it but also following it.

4:7 Third, an overseer must reject that which opposes the Word (v. 7a). Paul describes the error as “irreverent, silly myths.” “Myths” emphasizes the untruthfulness of the error. But these are not just any myths. They are irreverent and silly—they are godless and common and transparently false. Literally, they are “fit only for old women” (NASB), an idiom akin to our expression “old wives’ tales.” A good servant of Christ Jesus will not let himself be carried away by irreverent and silly myths.

The alternative to heeding foolish and silly myths is to “train yourself for godliness.” “Train” (gymnazō) involves an athletic image that brings to mind the idea of physical training, of training and undergoing discipline in order to triumph in competition. Here the objective of the training is godliness, that is, devotedness or piety toward God (BDAG). Thus the exertion of training and resolve has nothing to do with improving oneself physically but is focused instead on improving oneself spiritually. When an athlete is training for competition, he pursues training that makes him bigger, faster, and stronger while avoiding that which makes him smaller, slower, or weaker. Likewise, a person disciplining himself for godliness pursues things that make him holier and more Christlike while avoiding everything that makes him unholier and less Christlike. The “words of the faith and of the good doctrine” (4:6) will make Timothy stronger, while “irreverent and silly myths” will only make him weaker. The discipline that leads to godliness is the daily and consistent pursuit of the one and the avoidance of the other. Paul calls for a lifestyle that requires discipline, for the world and the flesh desire to pursue silly myths and to avoid the Word of God.

4:8 Paul explains why a “good servant” would train himself in this unusual, spiritual way. The usual way of physical discipline has value only for this life, while the unusual way of discipline—spiritual discipline—has value both for this life and for the one to come.

But notice that Paul does not say that physical discipline is of “no value”; it is of “some value.” There are benefits to physical discipline. A person can be healthier through physical discipline, and he may live longer, too. There is some profit to physical discipline, and the wise person should not avoid it. But physical exercise ultimately provides only some benefit, because death is unavoidable. Physical fitness will ultimately be gone with the wind. The life will go out of the body, it will be returned to dust, and the corpse will decompose.

Godliness, however, is valuable for all time because it has the “promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Godliness teaches a person that God will do for his corpse what physical training could never do: he will raise the corpse to life, making it new, immortal, and glorious. Paul calls Timothy to train himself for godliness, which will teach him to store up treasures for the age to come rather than for this temporary age.

4:9 On “the saying is trustworthy,” see comment on 1:15. Some commentators think the “trustworthy” saying refers to what follows in verse 10, but more likely it refers to what Paul has said about godliness in the preceding verse. The phrase “deserving of full acceptance” is added twice to Paul’s “trustworthy” sayings (1 Tim. 1:15; 4:9) to emphasize the need for all to respond by believing and obeying the teaching.

4:10 Paul “toils” and “strives” for a purpose. He aims not for what fades away but for what lasts. And what lasts is what God redeems. Paul says we “toil” and “strive” for godliness because it leads to life—not temporary mortal life but eternal life. Paul can labor and strive and suffer the loss of all things in this life because he knows that he is going to get it all back, and then some, in the next. Paul explains why he toils and agonizes in his ministry: “because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

“Living God” is an OT way of referring to God in contrast to dead idols (e.g., Deut. 5:26; Josh. 3:10). God is alive, and God gives life. It is this God who is the Savior of all men—meaning that God can raise anyone from the dead.

What does it mean that God is the Savior of all people? How can that be true, since not all people are saved? And what does it mean that God “especially” saves believers? Are some believers saved in a special way, while others are saved differently?

Paul uses “all people” language elsewhere, and it is clear that he does not mean “all people” without exception. In 1 Timothy 2:1 and 2:4, Paul says that there should be prayers for “all people” and that God desires “all people” to be saved. In 4:10, Paul says that God is the Savior of “all people.” But Paul is not saying in chapter 4 that “all people” without exception are saved any more than he was saying so in chapter 2. We know that Paul does not mean “all people” without exception in part because of the last phrase, which perhaps should be translated not as “especially believers” but as “namely believers.”² Paul’s logic goes like this: “We are laboring and striving because we know that God is going to come through for us who believe.” Thus Paul expresses his confidence that whatever he loses in the struggle he will regain when God’s salvation is complete in the age to come.