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7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. ~ 1 Timothy 4:7-9
Today's topic is the continuation of what we discovered in 1 Timothy 4:1-6. In order to be most effective in serving and influencing others, we must understand that all false teaching comes from the demonic world. These demonic influences have been around since the fall of Lucifer and their tactic is always to lead us to self rather than the Savior. In addition, we must be defined by and saturated by the Word of God.
In v.7 we read, "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly."
Since the enemy wants to lead us to self, we are to reject anything that places more emphasis on us rather than on God. These godless teachings have no basis in Scripture. While acknowledging self-denial has some value, we do best to consistently aim at that which God is doing in this world to redeem mankind and find effective ways to be a part of His work. Someone once said, "A chemist may handle and study poisons, but he does not permit them to get into his system."
These “old wive’s tales” brought with them the idea that it was best to not marry and that godliness is measured by the foods we eat. In that day, when they wanted to bring disdain on some viewpoint, they would call it an old wive’s tale. By using this description, the Apostle was saying that the false teaching was unbiblical.
Now, spiritual effectiveness is the result of being saturated with the Word of God. Whereas the Bible will keep us from sin, sin will keep us from the Bible. We must be convinced of the value of the Word of God, even when it slams us. In addition, we must be careful not to have a welcome mat in our being for false teaching.
In 1 Timothy 1:4 Paul reminded us to not waste our time on myths and endless genealogies that only promote controversial speculations rather than advancing the truth of God. In 2 Timothy 2:16 Paul says avoid godless chatter because those who indulge in it will only become more and more ungodly. The point is whatever is not on par with God's definition of things, do not be distracted by it from the truth. Be defined by the truth.
At the end of v.7 we read, "rather, train yourself to be godly." Ministry is not how clever we are, it is about how God is defining of us. For the word "train" the Apostle uses the Greek word gumnazō. We get our English word gymnasium from it. To train ourselves is to develop the habit of saying "no" to the flesh and "yes" to the Spirit who will always work in tandem in our lives with the Word of God. He will always render a selflessness that enables others to see the secret to our spiritual success, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Now, in Ephesus, in those days, physical training was prized and was very vital. The Greeks were into physical beauty. They invested heavily in the training the body. They went to the gym in order to train their bodies every day. They had a Gold's Gym on every corner, too. So, the Apostle Paul uses this word, gumnazō, to describe how we are to invest heavily in being “godly.”
Godliness is not about good people getting better. Godliness is the accentuation of God in our lives. The emphasis must never be on the one who is experiencing the invasion of God into His life. In many ways, godliness is about us getting out of God's way and allowing Him to express Himself.
In v.8 we read, "8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."
In comparison, our eternal investment is far more profitable than our temporal investment. When we get involved in spiritual gymnastics the godly results will not only be for now but for eternity. Paul is encouraging our involvement in our sanctification which is a process whereby God is changing us from the inside out to think and live according to His definitions. And the benefactors of our sanctification are those we influence to go with God.
In v.9 we read, "This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance."
The Apostle Paul uses the phrase, "This is a trustworthy saying," five times in the pastoral epistles. It means it’s a truism, an axiom, a maxim. It is something patently obvious, it is axiomatic. Everybody knows that bodily exercise is only good for a little time but spiritual exercise is good forever and enduring. Godliness is increasingly going out of vogue, but everyone knows it is the answer. We must be wise to let God have His way today in our lives.
