1 Timothy 6
New
American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 All who are under the yoke as
slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honour so that the name
of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against. 2 Those who have believers
as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren,
but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are
believers and beloved.
Teach and
preach these principles
3 If anyone advocates a different
doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, 4 he is conceited and
understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions
and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language,
evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction between men of depraved mind and
deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness actually is a means
of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 7 For we have brought
nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
8 If we have food and covering, with these we
shall be content. 9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a
snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and
destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some
by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with
many griefs.
11 But flee from these things, you
man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and
gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to
which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many
witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all
things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius
Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper
time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of
lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light,
whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honour and eternal dominion! Amen.
17 Instruct those who are rich in
this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty
of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,
19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future,
so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.
20 O Timothy, guard what has been
entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments
of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and thus
gone astray from the faith.
The IVP New Testament Commentary Series
God has placed an incredible weight of responsibility onto the Christian leader's shoulders. The leader must not only faithfully nurture and direct the church but also pay careful attention to personal piety. A healthy church depends on healthy ministers whose ministry and personal life reflect equally the power of God.Paul emphasizes the weight of this dual responsibility by closing the letter as he opened it, with a solemn charge to Timothy in the presence of God. The dangers of unfaithfulness, both to the leader and to the church, have been graphically spelled out in the interplay between descriptions of false teacher and faithful minister throughout the letter. Now, as the final contrast is made, the clarion call to faithful service resounds. The shape and tone of the text suggest that Paul may have adapted a formal ordination or baptismal charge for emphasis. But again, although the focus in this passage is on leaders, the instructions Paul gives apply to us all.
The IVP New Testament Commentary Series
Responsibilities to Others (6:18)
The sentence continues in the Greek as the thought now turns to the observable lifestyle of the wealthy. First Paul calls them to service, much as he does any believer. To do good, as Paul quickly translates into their vernacular, is to be rich in good deeds. The two expressions are equivalent, each describing the observable outworking of genuine faith (2:10; 5:10). The readers are to strive to amass spiritual wealth, and as the command continues, it is clear that they are to put their material wealth to use in this effort. Their material blessing involves a special responsibility. For them, the normal Christian life of good works must include practical expressions of generosity and the willingness to share. The principle of economic equality in the Christian community that Paul enunciated explicitly in 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 implicitly undergirds this instruction. Since all they possess has come from God (v. 17), the rich are to assume a healthy attitude of detachment toward their wealth and use it to help the needy. Paul envisions a stewardship of the world's goods, and those blessed with this wealth are to be responsible administrators of it (Lk 16:8-9).
The Bible Panorama
1 Timothy 6
V 1–2: SLAVES The word ‘bond servants’ means ‘slaves’. They are told to honour their masters so that God will be glorified. They must not take unfair advantage of Christian masters who bestow great benefits coming from their Christian character. Timothy is to insist on this. (Some slaves became more privileged and better supported than many free people.)
V 3–5: SEPARATION Timothy is to separate himself from those who have selfish, corrupt and ungodly attitudes and lifestyles which cause them to seek gain rather than godliness.
V 6–10: STRAYING Carrying on with the thought of gain, Paul tells Timothy that some have strayed from the faith, and injured themselves, because of a love of money. Godliness brings its own contentment. Paul advocates a simple lifestyle with gratitude for needs being met, and a desire to glorify God.
V 11–16: SPOTLESS Timothy, as a man of God, is to flee all spiritually harmful influences and seek the qualities and characteristics which are consistent with the ‘good fight of faith’. He is to seek to be kept spotless and blameless in the view of Christ’s appearing. He is to remember the coming appearing, the holiness and the greatness of his ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’.
V 17–19: SHARING Timothy is to tell the rich Christians, for whom all their riches have come from God, that they should be willing to share with others and invest in eternal life.
V 20–21: STEWARD That which has been committed to the stewardship trust of Timothy is to be protected from any teaching that would pollute it. Some have strayed through those polluted teachings and Paul prays for God’s grace for his protégé.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Contentment
a state of mind in which one's desires
are confined to his lot whatever it may be (1 Tim. 6:6; 2 Cor. 9:8).
It is opposed to envy (James 3:16),
avarice (Heb. 13:5),
ambition (Prov. 13:10),
anxiety (Matt. 6:25, 34),
and repining (1 Cor. 10:10).
It arises from the inward disposition, and is the offspring of humility, and of
an intelligent consideration of the rectitude and benignity of divine
providence (Ps. 96:1,
2; 145), the greatness of the divine promises (2 Pet. 1:4),
and our own unworthiness (Gen. 32:10);
as well as from the view the gospel opens up to us of rest and peace hereafter
(Rom. 5:2).
Encyclopedia of The Bible
CONTENT (יָאַל֮, H3283, to be pleased; ἀρκέω, G758, to regard as sufficient). CONTENTMENT (αὐτάρκεια, G894, a sufficiency; hence—subjectively—satisfaction with one’s lot).
Contentment, or the state of being content, is enjoined by the Scriptures upon believers (Luke 3:14; Heb 13:5), is intimately associated with godliness (1 Tim 6:6), and is a marked feature of Pauline spirituality (Phil 4:11; 1 Tim 6:8).
In Christian perspective, to be content is not to be indifferent to the lot of the neighbor who is oppressed and unjustly treated. It is not to acquiesce in public evil or to tolerate wrongs committed by men upon their fellows. It is not to rid oneself of discontent with sin, or to be without a deep and dynamic concern for social righteousness.
Having nothing to do with social insensitivity, complacency, or inertia, Christian contentment has everything to do with Christian self-acceptance. The contentment of which the Bible speaks is essentially inner directed, and is centrally an acceptance of God’s ministrations as these affect one’s station and task in life, and also one’s resources. It is thus a settled disposition to regard God’s gifts as sufficient, and his assignments as appropriate. It is, in short, an acceptance of one’s lot in life.
But this “lot in life” must be dynamically conceived. Because our lot in life is related to the living God who in His dealings with men always is propulsive, and because men energized by God are always on the move toward better things, Christian contentment is not a resting in the status quo. It is not, as is the spurious “contentment” of the Buddhist, the result of suppressing all desire; nor is it a stoic apathy rooted in supine resignation to an impersonal and unalterable fate. It does not exclude aspiration and a concern for improvement.
Christian contentment is neither acquiescence in or collusion with remediable evil nor satisfaction with the second rate. It is rather that state of mind and heart which arises out of the grace-induced awareness that underneath our lives are the everlasting arms of the heavenly Father who cares for us and who, if we but obey, will show us every good. Supporting this contentment is a firm belief in a wise and loving Providence, a deep-seated willingness to be made serviceable in any way that God chooses to the ends of His kingdom, and an unquenchable assurance that God has in store for His own a fullness of life to which the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared.
Contentment is opposed to petulance, self-rejection, despair, and panic on the one hand, and vaulting ambition on the other. It excludes envy (James 3:16), avarice (Heb 13:5; 1 Tim 6:8), and repinings (1 Cor 10:10). It is a glad, trustful, repose in God and a humble participation in His purposes and dealings.
Bibliography Commentaries on indicated texts; Dictionaries of Ethics, in loco.
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