1Timothy 6:3-10 Paul, here in our text, is going in to his summary of this first letter to Timothy, the protégé that he has left in charge of the church in Ephesus. He has spent a great deal of time in this letter telling Timothy details about the running of the church, what the goals of any church are, how to recognize what is going on in the Ephesian church and how to deal with those details. The church in Ephesus is one that Paul founded and spent several years with (Acts 19) and now, nearly a decade later, it is involved in conflict and controversy, a storm that is now Timothy’s to deal with. At the heart of that storm is the idea of ‘godliness’ and the doctrine or teaching of men associated with the church.
This idea of godliness is one that Paul has specifically addressed several times in this letter. In 1Timothy 2 he urges that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people, including kings and all those in authority in order that ‘we may all live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness’ (1Timothy 2:1-2). In 1Timothy 3 he touches on that godliness being the foundation of the conduct of ‘God’s household, the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth’ and then goes on to point out that ‘Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great…’ as witnessed in the life of Jesus (1Timothy 3:15-16). In chapter 4 he says to ‘Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather train yourself to be godly. 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’ (1Timothy 4:7-8). I think that it is clear that whatever this ‘godliness’ is, Paul holds it to be central to the life of the believer and to the life of the church as a whole and to fail to understand what it means in terms of ‘God’s household, the church of the living God’ is to fail fundamentally in what we are called to do and understand as believers.
Paul also makes it clear that while this coming to grips with this idea of ‘godliness’ is a requirement for us as believers, this isn’t an easy nor one-time kind of understanding. The mystery from which true godliness springs is great; the fact that Jesus came in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world and then taken up to glory (1Timothy 3:16) are challenging indeed. Any one of those topics can exercise us beyond our understanding and have been the centers of controversy and misunderstanding throughout the Church Age. Our approach has to be one of not trying to write anything in stone as the ‘gospel’ truth but rather of taking the next step in a journey that will last our lifetime and whose end we really won’t see until we see Him face to face.
Yet, that open minded understanding that we don’t understand it all must be tempered with an understanding of what ‘godliness’ isn’t and be able to confront it as such. The words that Paul uses to describe the men who are opposing Timothy and the doctrine/teaching that conforms to godliness are strong indeed (6:4-5). They obviously don’t get it and to add fuel to the fire, they are seeking to take advantage of the uncertainty and controversy in order to pursue financial gain.
So just what is godliness? I don’t know that I can give you a comprehensive definition nor do I think that is something I need to do. What I can tell you is that the word used here for ‘godliness’ could literally be translated as ‘good worship’ or ‘well worshiped’, that at the center of whatever godliness works out to be, if it doesn’t have worship, the idea of falling down before our Lord at the heart of it, we are missing the mark. Jesus uses the word for worship that is at the heart of this idea of godliness only once, and that is a quote from Isaiah in Matthew 15. “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but the rules taught by men”. He immediately follows this quote up with the statement “Listen and understand. What goes into man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean’” (Matthew 15:8-11).
Wherever we come down on just what it means to be ‘godly’, I think it is pretty clear that it must be something that is hammered out in our own hearts in tandem and partnership with the Holy Spirit. Whatever it means to ‘worship well’, that worship and what it looks like in doing it well is something that is defined by God Himself and not by men. We probably will not get it ‘right’ every time, but if we are committed to continuing to let our Father in Heaven hammer out His Truth in our hearts, we can rest assured that He is in the middle of that and will tax the heavens in order to bring that task to completion.
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