What does it mean to be a man or woman of
God? I have had people refer to me from
time to time as a “man of God” simply because I’m a minister. Is that what it means to be a man of
God? Does that mean that anyone who is
not a minister is not a man or woman of God?
I ask you this today because in the text that lies before us Paul is
going to show us what it means to be men and women of God, and what we are
going to see from this passage is that being a man or woman of God has nothing
to do with whether a person is a minister or not.
In 1
Timothy 6:11-16, Paul charged Timothy to persevere in the work that God had
called him to do. This is what it means
to be a man or woman of God: to persevere
in our walk with God and in whatever work that God has called them to do. That work may be pastoring a church, but that
work may also be raising children as a godly mother. Whatever the work may be, men and women of
God stay the course. They press on and
finish their race. It’s my prayer today
that God would stir each of our heart to look to Him for grace to persevere
till the end in whatever we have been called to do. This text is going to give us two important
truths that will help us persevere.
[11] But
as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. [12] Fight the good fight of the
faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which
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 in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,
[14] to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] which he will display at the
proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and
Lord of lords, [16] who alone has immortality, who dwells in
unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and
eternal dominion. Amen. (1
Timothy 6:11-16 ESV)
I.
Men and Women of God Know How to Persevere (11-12)
In verses 11-12, Paul gives Timothy four
imperatives (commands) that show him and us how to persevere in the faith until
Christ returns. The first way that we
are to do so is by fleeing certain things
(11a). “These things” that Timothy is to flee are the evils of the false
teachers mentioned in 6:3-10:
heretical doctrine, arrogance & ignorance, craving for controversy and
quarreling, & greed. We are reminded
here that the Christian life isn’t fight or
flight; it is fight and flight. Sometimes the way we win battles over sin is
by turning our backs to it and running as fast as we can, just as Joseph did (Genesis 39:12).
The second way that we are to persevere is by pursuing certain things (11b). He is not only to run from something, but also to
something. He is told to “pursue” six items, which most
commentators see as three pairs. The
first pair, “righteousness” and “godliness,” is a charge to pursue godly
conduct. The second pair, “faith” and “love,” is a charge to pursue godly virtues. The third
pair, “steadfastness” and “gentleness,” is a charge to pursue godly ministry qualities. Steadfastness
is patience in difficult circumstances; gentleness is patience with difficult
people. We must always remember in our
spiritual conflict that contending for the faith doesn’t mean that we are to be
contentious people (2 Timothy 2:24-26). They way that Timothy is to make a difference
is by being the difference.
The third way that we are to persevere is by fighting the good fight of the faith (12a).
This is a charge to contend for Christian truth, especially the truth of the
gospel. In 1 Timothy 1:18, Paul opened this letter by charging Timothy to “wage the good warfare” and now closes
it by charging him to “fight the good
fight of the faith.” He would say of
himself in 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Two things stand out from these verses, the first one being a simple
reminder that the normal Christian life
is war. The Greek word here for “fight” gives us the English
word “agonize,” and was used in both military
and athletic endeavors to describe
the concentration, discipline, and extreme effort needed to win. The second thing that we need to see here is
that some fights are good fights. When false teachers appear in the church and
the truth of the gospel is at stake, it is time to fight and at such a time it
is good and right to fight.
Finally, Timothy is told to persevere by taking hold of eternal life (12b). In the NT, “eternal life” is presented as both a present reality and a future
hope. It is one of many examples of
how we as believers are experiencing the world to come now in some ways. And the picture here is beautiful. Timothy was “called” to this eternal life.
When Scripture speaks of believers being called, it is normally a
reference to being called to salvation or service to God. This instance carries the former
meaning. A believers calling to
salvation is not an invitation but a summons to which we respond (John 6:44, 65, Romans 8:30). Timothy responded to this summons by making a
“good confession” of this eternal
life in the presence of many witnesses (probably a reference to Timothy’s baptism) and now he is to continue by
violently pursuing and taking hold of it (cf.
Philippians 2:12).
This
instruction reminds me of the men in Nehemiah
4:17, who were ready to work with one hand and ready to fight with the
other. This is what the Christian life
looks like: us reaching for God with one hand and fighting with the other. That is how men and women of God
persevere.
If I could give you one practical way to put your
perseverance on steroids, it would be that you make learning the Scriptures a
serious, life-long pursuit. 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God
may be competent, equipped for every good work.” God’s Word is what equips men and women to be
men and women of God who know what to flee, what to follow, what to fight, and
how to passionately chase God with all their heart.
II.
Men and Women of God Know Why to Persevere (13-16)
Verses 13-16 are one long sentence, with verse 14
being a general charge to Timothy to “follow his orders without fault or
failure” and that general charge is wrapped with four reasons why Timothy is to
follow those orders.
The first reason we are to persevere is because we have a Creator whom we are accountable
to and who is able to sustain us (13a).
We are accountable to God who gives life to all things and Christ who
gave His life to purchase us. That God
gives life to all things is meant to remind Timothy that God is both Creator
and Sustainer. He is able to sustain
Timothy through whatever he may face.
The second reason we are to persevere is because we have a Redeemer who has persevered for
us (13b). This is what Paul intends
to bring to Timothy’s mind when he reminds him that Christ Jesus made “the good confession” before Pontius
Pilate in His testimony. Paul is
reminding Timothy that Christ persevered in His mission through great suffering
to the point of death on the cross (Philippians
2:8). This was for Timothy and for
us. For God’s people, there are fewer
images that are more motivating than seeing the beaten and bloodied Christ
refuse to cave in before His persecutors so that we may have life.
The third reason this passage gives us to
persevere is because we have a King
whose return is certain (14-15a).
The certain return of Christ is supposed to be one of the most powerful
motivators in the Christian life to persevere (Titus 2:11-14, 2 Peter 3:11-12, 1 John 3:2-3). The idea is that we should be motivated to
persevere until “the fat lady sings” because we believe that she WILL sing at the
proper time.
The final reason we are given to persevere in this
passage is because we have a God who is
infinitely glorious (15b-16). The
contemplation of Christ’s certain return causes Paul to erupt in praise,
rattling off several of God’s attributes.
God is “the blessed and only
Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” Only He ultimately rules this universe. God “alone
has immortality.” We are immortal
creatures, but our immortality is a gift from God. No one made God immortal; He is. God’s life is the essence of immortality. God also “dwells
in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.” He is infinitely holy and inaccessible in
His fullness. Sinless, angelic beings
cover their faces because they feel unworthy in His presence (Isaiah 6:2-3). To Him belongs ultimate “honor and eternal dominion.”
The reason Paul focuses on
the glory of God here is so that the corresponding smallness of Timothy’s
opponents might be seen. These four reasons essentially communicate one
truth: that we are to persevere because we have a God who is infinitely big and
glorious.
Scripture and history are filled with men and
women who had such a clear picture of God’s greatness that they were willing to
persevere to the very end. David Brainerd
was a missionary to the American Indians who persevered in the face of great
depression and illness. He would die
from Tuberculosis at the age of 29. Adoniram
Judson, the first Baptist missionary from America, would minister for years
before seeing a convert and suffered great loss. Yet he never gave up. John Piper tells the story of the
perseverance of the Masai warrior named Joseph:
“One day,
Joseph, who was walking along one of these hot, dirty African roads, met
someone who shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. Then and there he
accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. The power of the Spirit began
transforming his life; he was filled with such excitement and joy that the
first thing he wanted to do was return to his own village and share the same
Good News with the members of his local tribe.
Joseph began going from door-to-door, telling everyone
he met about the Cross of Jesus and the salvation it
offered, expecting to see their faces
light up the way his had. To his amazement the villagers not only didn’t care,
they became violent. The men of the village seized him and held him to the
ground while the women beat him with strands of barbed wire. He was dragged
from the village and left to die alone in the bush.
Joseph somehow managed to crawl to a
waterhole, and there, after days of passing in and out of conscious- ness,
found the strength to get up. He wondered about the hostile reception he had
received from people he had known all his life. He decided he must have left
something out or told the story of Jesus incorrectly. After rehearsing the message
he had first heard, he decided to go back and share his faith once more.
Joseph limped into the circle of huts
and began to proclaim Jesus. “He died for you, so that you might find
forgiveness and come to know the living God,” he pleaded. Again he was grabbed
by the men of the village and held while the women beat him, reopening wounds
that had just begun to heal. Once more they dragged him unconscious from the
village and left him to die.
To have survived the first beating was
truly remark- able. To live through the second was a miracle. Again, days
later, Joseph awoke in the wilderness, bruised, scarred—and determined to go
back.
He returned to the small village and
this time, they attacked him before he had a chance to open his mouth. As they
flogged him for the third and probably the last time, he again spoke to them of
Jesus Christ, the Lord. Before he passed out, the last thing he saw was that
the women who were beating him began to weep.
This time
he awoke in his own bed. The ones who had so severely beaten him were now
trying to save his life and nurse him back to health. The entire village had
come to Christ.”[1]
One final example of perseverance that is
appropriate this Mother’s day is the example of Timothy’s grandmother Lois and
his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5, 3:15). They weren’t famous preachers or
missionaries. They were simply a mother
and a grandmother who persevered in teaching Timothy the Scriptures from
childhood, and the result was a mighty warrior that God would use for His
kingdom.
What these people all had in common is that they
persevered in the work that God had called them to do because they had a big
God. One of the reasons that we often
fail to persevere in our walk with the Lord and the work we are called to do is
because we loose sight of just how big the God that we belong to is. Men and women of God stay the course because
they know that they serve a big God. How
big is your God? With all due respect,
some of us act like the God we serve couldn’t help us get through anything. May we remember today that whatever we face,
there is a glorious God and Savior who is able to hold us up as we persevere
through anything! Will you surrender
your heart and life to Him today?
