1 Timothy 6:11 11But you, o man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
Timothy’s life needed to be different compared to the false teachers in the previous verses. The opening but you gives a strong contrast to the pursuit of wealth in verse 10. Paul bestows upon Timothy the title man of God, a description of important leaders in the Old Testament like Moses (Deuteronomy 33:1), Samuel (1 Samuel 9:6), Elijah (1 Kings 18:18), Elisha (2 Kings 4:7), and David (Nehemiah 12:24). Timothy had the responsibility of being God’s leader to ensure that the truth of the gospel was preserved and taught in the Ephesian church.
Paul gives Timothy a two-part exhortation with two imperative verbs: flee . . . pursue. Both of these verbs are in the present tense, indicating that Timothy must continually be vigilant and deliberate on how he lives. Flee (pheuge) has the sense of leaving a dangerous situation and seeking safety. The danger of these things refers back to the controversies, speculations, false doctrine, division, and wrong priorities described in verses 3-10. Those things only create problems in our lives and for others.
Timothy must pursue (dōike) the better route, described with six qualities. Since this is a command, he had responsibility to develop these in his life. Righteousness (dikaiosynēn) is both a positional term, in the sense of being free from condemnation and forgiven by God, and ethical, referring to living in obedience to God’s commands. Godliness (eusebeian) is reverence, devotion, and commitment to God shown in holy living (3:16; 4:7-8; 6:5-6). Faith (pistin) is trusting in God and God’s message of hope in the good news of Jesus Christ. Faith is the starting point of our response to God’s grace. Love (agapēn) is our response to God for God’s love to us. We show our love for God by loving others (1 John 4:19). Endurance (hypomonēn) helps us hold up under stress, persecution, and trouble with confidence and faith in God’s hope. Gentleness (praupathian) is a rare compound word literally meaning “gentle suffering.” When suffering comes, a person gives a gentle response. This response comes as a result of all the other qualities listed here.
Timothy would need all of these qualities to deal with the situation in Ephesus with “love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1:5). Dealing with the growing heresy in the church would not be easy and likely would bring discouragement. Not only would Timothy need these qualities, but he needed to pass them on to the church. These qualities are essential for any Christian. Many problems we face could be resolved by pursuing and developing these in our lives.
For older posts, click here.