1 Timothy 6.11-Paul Commands Timothy To Flee The Vices Of The Apostate Teachers And Pursue Godly Virtues
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday October 6, 2011
1 Timothy: 1 Timothy 6:11-Paul Commands Timothy To Flee The Vices Of The Apostate Teachers And Pursue Godly Virtues
Lesson # 133
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 6:3.
In 1 Timothy 6:11, the apostle Paul commands Timothy to continue making it his habit of fleeing the vices of the apostate pastor-teachers.
Instead he is to continue making it his habit and every effort of practicing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness so as to exemplify these things.
1 Timothy 6:11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. (NASB95)
“But flee from these things, you man of God” is composed of the nominative second person singular form of the personal pronoun su (σύ) (see), “you” and this is followed by the post-positive conjunction de (δέ) (theh), “but” and then we have the interjection o (Ω) (owe), which is not translated and is modifying the vocative masculine singular form of the noun anthropos (ἄνθρωπος) (ahn-throe-poce), “man” and then we have the genitive masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός) (thay-oce), “of God” and this is followed by the accusative neuter plural form of the immediate demonstrative pronoun (οὗτος) (oo-toce), “these things” and then we have the second person singular present active imperative form of the verb pheugo (φεύγω) (fevah-woe), “flee from.”
The conjunction de is introducing a statement that stands in contrast with Paul’s statements in 1 Timothy 6:3-10, which presents a final indictment of the apostate teachers in Ephesus.
“You O man of God” is an exclamation expressing Paul’s deep emotional concern for Timothy as a result of contemplating the severe discipline that these apostate pastor-teachers in Ephesus were experiencing because of their apostasy.
The noun theos refers to God the Father and functions as a genitive of possession indicating that Timothy “belongs to” the Father through regeneration.
In 1 Timothy 6:11, the verb pheugo is used in a moral sense and means “to avoid” the vices of the apostate teachers in Ephesus mentioned in 1 Timothy 6:3-10 in order to avoid being disciplined by God like them.
The present imperative form of the verb is a “customary present imperative” whose force is for Timothy to simply continue making it his habit of avoiding the ungodly attitude and conduct of the apostate teachers in Ephesus and resultant divine discipline they are experiencing.
Paul’s statements in 1 Timothy 1:3 and 4:6 indicate that Timothy was carrying out everything he wrote in this epistle, thus, this command here in 1 Timothy 6:11 is simply a reminder to Timothy to continue doing what they talked about before Paul left for Macedonia.
The immediate demonstrative pronoun houtos refers to the vices of the apostate teachers mentioned by Paul in 1 Timothy 6:3-10.
“And pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness” is composed of the second person singular present active imperative form of the verb dioko (διώκω) (thee-owe-koe), “pursue” and this is followed by the post-positive conjunction de (δέ) (theh), “but” and then we have accusative feminine singular form of the noun dikaiosune (δικαιοσύνη) (thee-kay-owe-see-knee), “righteousness” and this is followed by the accusative feminine singular form of the noun eusebeia (εὐσέβεια) (ef-sev-ee-ah), “godliness” and then we have the accusative feminine singular form of the noun pistis (πίστις) (pee-steece), “faith” and this is followed by the accusative form of the noun agape (ἀγάπη) (ah-gah-pee), “love” and this is followed by the accusative feminine singular form of the noun hupomone (ὑπομονή) (ee-poe-moe-knee), “perseverance” and then lastly we have the accusative feminine singular form of the noun praupathia (πραϋπαθία) (prie-pah-teeah), “gentleness.”
The conjunction de is introducing a command that stands in contrast with the previous command for Timothy to continue making it his habit of avoiding the ungodly attitude and conduct of the apostate pastors in Ephesus and resultant discipline from God that they are experiencing.
The verb dioko means “to pursue” but in the sense of making every effort to practice righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness so as to exemplify these things.
The present imperative form of the verb dioko is a “customary present imperative” whose force is for Timothy to simply continue making it his habit and every effort to practice righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness so as to exemplify these things.
Paul’s statements in 1 Timothy 1:3 and 4:6 indicate that Timothy was carrying out everything he wrote in this epistle, thus, this second command here in 1 Timothy 6:11 is simply a reminder to Timothy to continue doing what they talked about before Paul left for Macedonia.
The noun dikaiosune means “righteousness” and refers to Timothy practicing so as to exemplify God’s righteousness, which involves him fulfilling his obligation to God to love Him with his entire being and strength and fulfilling his obligation to his fellow human being to love them as himself.
It denotes Timothy doing all that God commands of him and all that He demands of him as His child and all that He approves, and all that He provides through Christ.
It refers to Timothy experiencing the righteousness of God by appropriating by faith his union and identification with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session.
This results in obedience to the various prohibitions and commands that appear in the gospel, which constitutes loving God with one’s entire being and strength and one’s neighbor as oneself.
The noun eusebeia means “godliness” referring to an attitude and resultant conduct that honors God and is an act of worshipping Him.
Eusebeia is the result of appropriating by faith the Spirit’s teaching in the Word of God that the Christian is in union with Christ identified with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session.
This results in obedience to the commands and prohibitions in the Word of God that is inspired by the Spirit.
It also results in godly conduct that honors the Father and reflects His perfect norms and standards.
Thus, Paul is commanding Timothy to continue making it his habit and every effort to practice godliness so as to exemplify it.
The noun pistis is used in an objective sense for the Christian faith and refers to the content of what Paul taught the Gentile churches.
Therefore, Paul is commanding Timothy to make every effort to practice Christian doctrine so as to exemplify it.
The noun agape in 1 Timothy 6:11 means “divine-love” since it refers to the love of God reproduced in the life of Timothy by the Holy Spirit when he exercises faith in the Word of God and specifically faith in his union and identification with Christ.
It refers to Timothy obeying the Lord Jesus’ command to love one another as He loves, which is the direct result of exercising faith in the Word of God (John 13:34).
Paul wants Timothy to continue making every effort to practice God’s love so as to exemplify it in his life.
Therefore, the emphasis with this word is upon God’s love being reflected in the life of Timothy as it functions towards the Lord and his fellow human beings since Paul is contrasting the negative ungodly results of the apostate pastors in Ephesus who taught false doctrine because of their love of money.
Their love for money prevented them from loving God with their entire being and strength and their neighbor.
The noun hupomone means “perseverance” and is used with regards to Timothy practicing this godly virtue so as to exemplify it.
It speaks of Timothy remaining faithful to the Lord by being obedient to the Word of God despite the obstacles in life such as the old sin nature, self, the cosmic system of Satan.
It denotes Timothy bearing up under intense pressure and not quitting on God.
It depicts him as enduring undeserved suffering on behalf of the communication of the gospel.
The noun hupomone depicts Timothy as staying disciplined and subjecting himself to the will of God, which demands the acquiescence of his will to the Father’s will.
The word conveys the idea of Timothy not permitting his adverse circumstances to get him to surrender or quit on the plan of God.
The word describes Timothy’s triumphant confident expectation of reward and blessing in the midst of adversity.
The noun praupathia means “gentleness of attitude and behavior, in contrast with harshness in one’s dealings with others.” (Louw and Nida, 88.59)
Thus, Paul wants Timothy to continue to making every effort to practice gentleness so as to exemplify it, which is a necessary virtue when confronting these apostate pastors in Ephesus (cf. Galatians 6:1).
It “describes the attitude necessary to engage those in opposition in a way that will facilitate their repentance and reconciliation.” (Towner, page 410)
By practicing gentleness so as to exemplify this virtue, Timothy’s conduct would stand in stark contrast with the Judaizers and the apostate pastors who adhered to their legalistic teaching since they were involved with pointless arguments about words which caused envy, dissension, slanders, and evil suspicions.
These individuals were incessantly arguing (cf. 1 Timothy 6:3-4).