Paul's Exhortations & Instructions to Brother Timothy 1st Letter Volume 61

Paul Teaches Timothy to Nulify Error and Greed in the Church Part 2

1 Timothy 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, KJV

Paul now begins to give a description of the ones in the Church who are actively standing up against godly authority that has been placed there by Christ Jesus our Lord and those who do not want to consent to the teachings of the very Words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the men in authority that are actual appointees of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ teaching His Words, for they have proven themselves to be from Christ by virtue of their refusing to compromise or water down the truth of the Gospel in order to win more followers or gain favor with Church hierarchy which would translate into more financial gain or profit for themselves to build their own earthly kingdoms instead of being a part in the building of Christ Kingdom. Note: "Christ Kingdom will be built here on this His earth because He is the One building it and He uses men and women in His Body to facilitate its construction. Therefore, His Kingdom will be built with or without certain men and women in the visible Church working against it, just as He declared to the Apostle Peter with these words, 'And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, {Petros}--a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, {petra}--a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it].' (Matthew 16:18) (Amplified Bible)." So, Paul describes such men to Brother Timothy with these words, "He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings," (1 Timothy 6:4) (KJV).

The first negative character trait found in such men in the Church is according to this little English phrase the Apostle uses here 'He is proud' and it  is translated by the Greek word tuphoō which means (figuratively) to inflate with self conceit: - high-minded, be lifted up with pride, be proud. And as we have documented before in another study/commentary our Lord Jesus Christ does not like pride, not only does He not like it, He actually hates pride (Proverbs 6:17). Our English dictionary defines self-conceit as an overweening (presumptuously arrogant) opinion of one's powers or endowments. However, our Heavenly Father defines human self-conceit with these words, "Do you see a man wise in his own eyes {and} conceit? There is more hope for a [self-confident] fool than for him." (Proverbs 26:12) (Amplified Bible). Here is what Dr. John Gill says concerning such people, "Or swelled and puffed up with a vain conceit of himself and his own notions, and treats with an haughty air the faithful ministers of the word. The doctrines of grace are of an humbling nature, especially when they are spiritually and experimentally understood and received; but notional knowledge, knowledge of natural things, and the doctrines of men, such as are of their own invention, fill the mind with pride and vanity." Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of such people, "That is, he is lifted up with his fancied superior acquaintance with the nature of religion. The Greek verb means, properly, 'to smoke, to fume;' and then to be inflated, to 'be conceited, etc.' The idea is, that he has no proper knowledge of the nature of the Gospel, and yet he values himself on a fancied superior acquaintance with its principles." These words written by Albert Barnes explains exactly what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, 'knowing nothing'.

When Paul writes here, 'but doting about questions and strifes of words', he means that instead of wanting to know truth from the Word of God, these people battle over words that are not promoting of truth, for example there are many in the visible Church that have taken the Words of Scripture and twisted them to mean something that our Lord Jesus Christ would never intend, such as King David and Saul's son Jonathon being in a homosexual relationship (1 Samuel 18:1). If this were true, The Truth our Lord Jesus Christ would have plainly stated it as such in His Word and He never did. He exposed his adultery and his murder. These types of disputing and striving over words is exactly what Paul means here as he wrote this to Timothy and it is dispicable, dirty, and disgusting. The English word 'doting' is transaleted by the Greek word noseō (used this one time only in the entire New Testament) meaning to be sick, that is, (by implication of a diseased appetite) to hanker after (figuratively to harp upon): - dote. The English word 'questions' used here by Paul is translated by the Greek word zētēsis meaning a searching (properly the act), that is, a dispute or its theme: - question. The little English phrase 'strifes of words' is translated by the Greek word logomachia (used this one time only in the entire New Testament) meaning disputation about trifles (“logomachy”), that is, argument about words or the meaning of words: - strife of words. This is exactly how these dreamers dispute over the words written of David and Jonathan, "Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own life." (1 Samuel 18:3) (Amplified Bible). Here is what Albert Barnes had to say concerning this doting and strife of words, "The meaning here is, that such persons had a sickly or morbid desire for debates of this kind. They had not a sound and healthy state of mind on the subject of religion. They were like a sickly man, who has no desire for solid and healthful food, but for that which will gratify a diseased appetite. They desired not sound doctrine, but controversies about unimportant and unsubstantial matters - things that bore the same relation to important doctrines which the things that a sick man pines after do to substantial food."

Paul now declares to Timothy that when this type of thinking and disputing over words occurs in the Church, then it is certain that envy, strife, railings, and evil surmisings will manifest or become visible within the congregation. The English word 'envy' is translated by the Greek word phthonos meaning ill will (as detraction), that is, jealousy (spite): - envy. It is almost certain that when a person begins to allow the sin of envy to permeate their soul that they will soon act out against the person who is the object of their envy with some sort of physical or verbal act of hatred and violence to hurt the object of their envy, for this is what the Word of God has to say about envy, "A calm {and} undisturbed mind {and} heart are the life {and} health of the body, but envy, jealousy, {and} wrath are like rottenness of the bones." (Proverbs 14:30) (Amplified Bible). The English word 'strife' is translated by the Greek word eris meaning a quarrel, that is, (by implication) wrangling: - contention, debate, strife, variance. Those that are always arguing over issues in the Church are a constant hinderance to the Gospel being declared in its totality and truth, for this is what the Word of God has to say about strife, "As coals are to hot embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man to inflame strife." (Proverbs 26:21) (Amplified Bible). The English word 'railings' is translated by the Greek word blasphēmia which is where we get our English word blaspheme from and it means vilification (especially against God): - blasphemy, evil speaking, railing. To vilify or speak evil of a person or persons who have never done you any harm or hurt is perhaps the lowest form of evil that comes out from the source of all evil the devil planted into the hearts and minds of willing human vessels to diffuse, disperse, and dissemenate said evil speaking. The English word 'surmisings' is translated by the Greek word huponoia (used this one time only in the entire Bible) meaning suspicion: - surmising. This type of behavior is to infer something upon someone else without the evidence to back up the claims. This is akin to spreading rumors about someone or gossip (without knowledge of if it is true) that could cause hurt and harm to the person or persons. Here is what Adam Clarke had to say concerning envy, strife, railings, and evil surmisings, "How little good have religious disputes ever done to mankind, or to the cause of truth! Most controversialists have succeeded in getting their own tempers soured, and in irritating their opponents. Indeed, truth seems rarely to be the object of their pursuit; they labor to accredit their own party by abusing and defaming others; from generals they often descend to particulars; and then personal abuse is the order of the day. Is it not strange that Christians either cannot or will not see this? Cannot any man support his own opinions, and give his own views of the religion of Christ, without abusing and calumniating his neighbor? I know not whether such controversialists should not be deemed disturbers of the public peace, and come under the notice of the civil magistrate. Should not all Christians know that the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of the Lord?"

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…