1 Timothy 4:1 1But the Spirit clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith by following deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
Chapter 4 builds on the foundation of the mystery of godliness contained in the creedal statement of 3:16. The creed gives the standard for what the Ephesians (and all Christians) should believe. In chapter 4, Paul moves back to the problem of false teachers (1:3) who were teaching doctrine contrary to the creed. They were getting caught up in tangents that could descend into heresy and shipwreck people’s faith. The warning Paul gives to Timothy and the Ephesians was not his idea but came by revelation of the Spirit, referring to God’s Holy Spirit. The Spirit gave Paul a clear, explicit, and unambiguous (a rare adverb hrētōs) word that should be taken with the utmost seriousness.
The prophetic word Paul received about later times, or the last days of this age. One of the indicators of the last days will be an apostasy (apostēsontai), which means turning away form the truth of the gospel, deserting God and his Messiah, and following a lie Jude 17-18; 2 Peter 3:3-7). People will desert the truth and the church and go their own way, just like the false teachers in Ephesus.
Their falling away from the faith will be evident in two ways. One is that they will following deceitful spirits. This phrase indicates some intentionality and not simply ignorance of the truth. These people know the truth but have started listening to the wrong teachings. Soon, they are deceived and led astray. Jesus warned his disciples about false teachers before he returns (Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24). Paul warned the Thessalonians about “the lawless one” and those who follow his deceiving ways (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). At first, false teachings may seem interesting but soon lead people into speculation and eventually into outright heresy. People compromise in their morality little by little, and soon, this compromise affects their theology and ruins their faith.
The second danger is following after teachings of demons. Few people actually teach about demons except perhaps Satanists. The demons may not be the topic of the teachings but the source of the teachings (daimoniōn as a genitive of source). Demons may be the source of the deceit. Both of these dangers overlap and refer basically to the same danger. This is a strong warning that Satan and demons are behind false doctrine by tempting and deceiving people into compromising the truth that Paul clearly stated in 3:16. The church must take seriously this warning from the Holy Spirit to watch out for false doctrine.
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