Paul's Exhortations & Instructions to Brother Timothy 1st Letter Volume 66

Paul Encourages Timothy to Continue in the True Gospel Part 1

1 Timothy 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.  KJV

In contrast to the promoters of the false gospel of health, wealth, and prosperity, Paul encourages and exhorts Brother Timothy to continue in 'the faith' once and for all handed down to the saints (Jude 1:3) and never to compromise it for any lie in order to gain things from this decaying and soon to be destroyed earth and all that is in it, so he writes these words first to give him strength to continue in the truth, "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." (1 Timothy 6:11) (KJV). When Paul writes to Timothy at the beginning of this verse, 'but thou, O man of God', he is acknowledging Timothy's true redemption 'in Christ' in contrast to those above who have erred from 'the faith' because of their greed and love for the things of this world, just as Paul had experienced first hand with Demas when he wrote these words concerning him which he will declare to Timothy in his second (2) letter, "For Demas has deserted me for love of this present world and has gone to Thessalonica;" (2 Timothy 4:10) (Amplified Bible). The Apostle Paul wants Timothy to stand fast in the truth and not be compromised by the devil and his lies of comfort, consolation, and contentment in the things of this present fleeting world, just as the Apostle John warned all true believers to take heed of with these words, "Do not love {or} cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things]--these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]. And the world passes away {and} disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever." (1 John 2:15-17) (Amplified Bible).

When Paul writes to Timothy, 'flee these things', he means exactly what it says and that is to run away from the lies of the devil spoken through men and women declaring that God the Father wants you healthy, wealthy, and to prosper financially at all times or else you are not in the will of God or being blessed by Him. This is hog wash, crap, filth, and flat out non-sense. The English word 'flee' used here by the Apostle Paul is translated by the Greek word pheugō which is a primary verb meaning to run away (literally or figuratively); by implication to shun; by analogy to vanish: - escape, flee (away). Paul wants Timothy and we true Christians of every era and generation to flee away from the love of money promoted by the false gospel of health, wealth, and proserity to 'righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness'. Paul tells Timothy and all of us who are true Christians to 'follow after' these things and this little English phrase is translated by the Greek word diōkō which is a prolonged (and causative) form of a primary verb meaning as used here to pursue (literally or figuratively); follow (after), or press toward. The first of these six (6) things we are to pursue is 'righteousness' and this English word is translated by the Greek word dikaiosunē which means equity (of character or act); specifically (Christian) justification: - righteousness. First of all there is nothing in any of us that even resembles righteousness, but we are made righteous, that is, in right standing with God the Father by virtue of our faith in our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, just as Paul declared to the Corinthian Church with these words, "But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin]." (1 Corinthians 1:30) (Amplified Bible).

Therefore, because He (Christ) was made Righteousness for us then our standing before the Throne of God the Father in Heaven is that we are righteous again just as Paul declared to the Corinthian Church with these words, "For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in {and} through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]." (2 Corinthians 5:21) (Amplified Bible). Now because of what He (Christ) has done for us and given to us, we should then yield to Him and His Power and chase after that which is righteous and good in His sight, not out of obligation to Him only or because we owe Him what we can never repay or because He owns us now and He does, but purely because we love Him, for as it is written spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ to us He said, "If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands." (John 14:15) (Amplified Bible). In other words, in our dealings with other human beings we are to do that which is just and not swindle or endeavor to take advantage of other people for our own profit or gain. The second (2nd) of these six (6) things we are to pursue is 'godliness' which is translated by the Greek word eusebeia which means piety; specifically the gospel scheme: - godliness, holiness. Paul has already told Timothy that godliness with contentment is great gain and that as we came into this world (with nothing), so shall we leave this world and therefore, we should pursue after godliness instead of the temporary things of this world. The third (3rd) of these six (6) things we are to pursue is 'faith' and again this English word is translated by the Greek word pistis meaning as used here the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself. In other words, Paul wanted Timothy and wants we true believers today to stay away from every wind of doctrine that comes our way and instead to stand fast in the truth of the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of Grace handed down to us from Paul, Peter, John, and all the other writers used by God the Holy Spirit to declare 'the Truth' to us once and for all.

The fourth (4th) of these six (6) things we are to pursue is 'love' and this English word is translated by the Greek word agape meaning as it is used here love, that is, affection or benevolence; a love feast: or dear love. Love is that which fulfills the law of God and when we are operating in God's love we will not interest ourselves or implicate ourselves or involve ourselves in any business or actions that would cause harm to others by what we do (Romans 8:10), and also as the Apostle John declares with these words, "For this is the message (the announcement) which you have heard from the first, that we should love one another, [And] not be like Cain who [took his nature and got his motivation] from the evil one and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his deeds (activities, works) were wicked {and} malicious and his brother's were righteous (virtuous)." (1 John 3:11-12) (Amplified Bible). For the love of God is not in agreement with the serving of mammon (Luke 16:13), that is, wealth regarded as an evil influence, nor is the love of God in agreement with the love of money, for our Lord Jesus Christ was and is rich in all spiritual and material things, yet He left the Ivory Palaces of Heaven and was born in a dirty smelly animal stable so that we who trusted Him could be rich in faith, now this is the type of love we should pursue after in our own lives.

The fifth (5th) of these six (6) things we are to pursue is 'patience' and this English word is translated by the Greek word hupomonē meaning cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy: - enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting). We should endure all manner of persecution from the enemy and his invisible demons working through the human instruments (two legged devils) that come against us in various ways, just as the Apostle James put it best with these words, "Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in {or} encounter trials of any sort {or} fall into various temptations. Be assured {and} understand that the trial {and} proving of your faith bring out endurance {and} steadfastness {and} patience. But let endurance {and} steadfastness {and} patience have full play {and} do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4) (Amplified Bible). Lastly the sixth (6th) of these six (6) things we are to pursue after is 'meekness' and this English word is translated by the Greek word praotēs which means as used here gentleness; by implication humility: - meekness. When someone is intent on getting us angry about something it is then we must ask God the Holy Spirit to restrain us with His meekness so that we can remain in perfect peace and continue in our pursuit of all these things that bless God.

"Righteousness in his conversation towards men, godliness towards God, faith and love as living principles, to support him and carry him on in the practice both of righteousness and godliness. Those that follow after righteousness and godliness, from a principle of faith and love, have need to put on patience and meekness - patience to bear both the rebukes of Providence and the reproaches of men, and meekness wherewith to instruct gainsayers and pass by the affronts and injuries that are done us. Observe, It is not enough that men of God flee these things, but they must follow after what is directly contrary thereto. Further, What excellent persons men of God are who follow after righteousness! They are the excellent of the earth, and, being acceptable to God, they should be approved of men." Matthew Henry

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…