Paul's Exhortations & Instructions to Brother Timothy 1st Letter Volume 41

Paul Exhorts Timothy to Take Heed to his Ministry Part 2

1 Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. KJV

Again as we emphasized in the previous study/commentary, Paul knew that Timothy was called to this ministry by our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, yet Paul also knew the persistence, the power, and the persuasiveness that the devil could exude and exert on any man or woman and especially young men and women, so Paul once again wanted to see Brother Timothy shored up, or supported, or strengthened with might (Ephesians 3:16), therefore, Paul encourages Timothy to do the following things that he writes here, "Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." (1 Timothy 4:13) (KJV). The little English phrase 'give attendance' is translated by one Greek word prosechō which means (figuratively) to hold the mind towards (the thoughts, the feelings, and the will), that is, pay attention to, be cautious about, apply oneself to, adhere to: - give attendance to, beware, take heed or have regard for anything.

In other words, Paul wanted Timothy (while he (Paul) was absent in the flesh) to be very careful in what he did or exposed himself to in the world and in the Church. Paul did not want Timothy to listen to every man who claimed to be a teacher of the Word of God or a minister of Christ, that is, because the devil disguised his ministers (2 Corinthians 11:15) as such in order to deceive, delude, then destroy. We must remember that this entire discourse to Brother Timothy is to warn him of the great apostasy that God the Holy Spirit has revealed to the Apostle Paul that will come to the visible church (1 Timothy 4:1-5), so Timothy needs his mind, that is, his thoughts, feelings, and his will fed continuously with the truth of the Gospel of Grace and of the Word of God as he has been taught by Paul the Apostle. Timothy needs to pay close attention to the teaching that Paul has already grounded him in, so that he will not become compromised with another gospel that is no gospel at all.

Therefore, Paul instructs Brother Timothy to be diligent in doing three (3) things until he comes back to where Timothy was located. The first thing Paul instructs Timothy is 'to read' and this little English phrase is translated by the Greek word anagnōsis and it means exactly what our English dictionary declares, and that is, (the act of) reading: - the process of understanding a written message, that is, to know again by learning and reasoning. This reading was to be done by Brother Timothy privately and publicly. Reading of the Word of God is the way we learn and understand the desire and will of God and allow the reasoning of God to seep or ooze into our inner man or inner woman shaping our understanding, which then shapes our beliefs and then our actions, just as the Lord Jesus instructed Joshua with these words, "This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe {and} do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely {and} have good success." (Joshua 1:8) (Amplified Bible).

Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say concerning reading of the Scripture, "And this is to be understood, not of the reading of the Scriptures in public, for the advantage of others, a custom which obtained in the Jewish synagogues; but in private, for his own use and service, that he might be more perfect, and more thoroughly furnished to the work and office to which he was called; for the Scriptures are the fund of spiritual knowledge, as well as the test and standard of doctrine, out of which all must be fetched, and by which it must be tried; and if Timothy, who had known the Scriptures from a child, had been trained up in them, and was always conversant with them, had need to give diligent attention to the reading of them, then much more others." The second thing Paul instructs Timothy is 'to exhortation' and this little English phrase is translated by the Greek word paraklēsis meaning imploration, hortation, solace: - comfort, consolation, exhortation, intreaty. In other words, exhortation is addressed to the peoples feelings and they will with the intention of shaping the conduct and behavior along the right path.

Here again is what Dr. John Gill had to say concerning exhortation to believers in Christ, "'Exhortation' intends the stirring up of believers to the exercise of grace, and the discharge of duty; and is a considerable part of the work of the ministry, and on which a minister of Christ should much insist; and it becomes the saints to suffer every word of exhortation from them, and receive it kindly, 2 Timothy 4:2, Romans 12:8, Hebrews 13:22. The word signifies also 'consolation', and which is another branch of the ministry. Believers are oftentimes disconsolate through the prevalence of corruptions, the power of Satan's temptations, and the hidings of God's face, and need comfort; when the ministers of the Gospel should be Barnabases, sons of consolation, and should speak comfortably to them; for which they are qualified by the God of all comfort, who comforts them in all their tribulations, that they might be capable of speaking good and comfortable words to others." The third thing Paul instructs Timothy is 'to doctrine' and this little English phrase is translated by the Greek word didaskalia which means instruction (the function or the information): - doctrine, learning, teaching.

In other words, Timothy must teach the truth of the Gospel of Christ and the Word of God, which he has learned to the entire body of believers under his charge and he must also be ready at all times to give an answer to non-believers concerning the hope that is within him (1 Peter 3:15). To teach others the truth of the Word of God is like planting a seed in a garden or a pot and then nurturing it with water and sunlight, then seeing it slowly grow up vibrantly into a strong plant producing that which it was made to produce. Man was created to glorify God and this is impossible without Jesus Christ in the heart and His Word taught and learned from Him (through His true ministers) as it is written, "Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] {and} dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish {and} train one another in all insight {and} intelligence {and} wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts. And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus {and} in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:16-17) (Amplified Bible).

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…