What are his commandments?

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309» 1Tim 6:11 . . But you-- O man of God --flee these things and pursue
righteousness, piety, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900) believed that
Christian virtues, especially compassion, are an impediment to achieving
greatness; which is just another way of saying that nice guys finish last.

The Greek word for "flee" basically means not to walk away; but rather, to
run away; as if for your life. (cf. 1Cor 6:18)

FAQ: What is a man of God?

REPLY: Well; first off we should point out that the Greek word for "man" in
that passage is anthropos (anth'-ro-pos) which refers to human beings of
either gender; so it would be far more useful to translate that phrase
"person of God".

NOTE: Man of God is okay too because when the creator made humans, he
called both genders "man". (Gen 1:27 & Gen 5:2)

Numerous passages in the Old Testament identify men of God as inspired
individuals, i.e. prophets. In that respect; Abel was a man of God (Luke
11:49-51) Abraham was a man of God (Gen 20:7) and a whole bunch of
other people too, including women; e.g. Miriam (Ex 15:20) Deborah (Judg
4:4) Asahiah (2Kgs 22:14) and Huldah (2Chron 24:32).

Obviously then, if your church's officers aren't inspired; then they aren't
men of God; they're just church managers on a career path.

* The Greek word for patience basically means to be consistent. For
example: an employee at my work once did an unusually good job on one of
his assignments and felt he deserved a high score on his annual
performance evaluation because of it. But I pointed out that in order to be
rated high, the quality of his work had to be excellent all year rather than
occasionally.
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310» 1Tim 6:12a . . Fight the good fight of the faith.

The first Greek word translated "fight" pertains to struggle; literally to
compete for a prize. This is the kind of conflict played out in competitive
sports.

The word for "fight" pertains to a place of assembly; viz: the field of
completion; e.g. arenas, coliseums, and/or stadiums.

The object of a Christian's struggle is not so much conquest, but rather, a
prize. In Paul's day athletes won wreaths. In our day, they win medals and
lucrative contracts for product endorsements.

● 1Cor 9:24-26 . . Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but
only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And
everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.
They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

In Paul's day, there were no second-place winners; only first. When the
competition is that fierce, athletes really go all out. So Paul is saying that
Christians should battle for their reward as if there were only one gold to go
around; in other words; really put their hearts into it.

However, in order to be adjudged a good fight, the contestants, win or lose,
have to go by the book.

● 2Tim 2:5 . .When someone competes as an athlete, he does not receive
the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.
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311» 1Tim 6:12b . .Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called
when you made your good profession in the presence of many witnesses.

All of Christ's believing followers were called to eternal life. Note the
grammatical tense of the "have" verb in the passages below. It's in the
present tense; not future; indicating that Christ's believing followers have
eternal life right now-- no delay, and no waiting period.

● John 3:36 . . He who believes in the Son has eternal life

● John 6:47 . .Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.

● John 5:24 . . I assure you, those who heed my message and trust in God
who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins,
but they have already passed from Death into Life.

● 1John 5:13 . . I write these things to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

FAQ: Why would Paul encourage Timothy to take hold of eternal life if he
already had it?

REPLY: The Greek word translated "take hold" is somewhat ambiguous. It
can mean reach for, and it can also mean to take something in order to
make use of it. For example having a lawn mower in your garage with a can
of gas sitting beside won't be much use for cutting grass unless gas is
transferred from the can to the mower's tank. The mower is a perfectly good
machine, and the gas is a perfectly good fuel; but the two need to be
combined in order to be effective.

FAQ: How so?

REPLY: Eternal life in 1Tim 6:12b is modified by a Greek article indicating
that we should understand this as "the" eternal life, i.e. a person (1John
1:1-2) In other words; Paul didn't want Timothy to be just another run of
the mill career-path cleric; rather, he wanted his friend to be a minister
empowered by God.
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312» 1Tim 6:13-14 . . I charge you in the sight of God-- who gives life to
everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate
made the good confession --to keep this command without spot or blame
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Greek word for "commandment" in that passage basically means an
injunction, i.e. an authoritative prescription. It's difficult to tell if Paul had a
specific instruction in mind or if he intended Timothy to accept his entire
epistle as the law of Christ. If the latter is the case, then the NLT seems the
better version; which reads like this:

"And I command you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ
Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey his
commands with all purity. Then no one can find fault with you from now until
our Lord Jesus Christ returns."

The NLT's version encompasses all of Christ's expectations; from Acts to
Revelation.

* The Geek translated "without spot/purity" basically means unblemished. It
takes a pretty concentrated, uncompromising effort for a man to finish up a
life of Christian service with a flawless record. That's setting the bar pretty
high, but then it would be out of character for Christ to expect less.
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313» 1Tim 6:17-19 . . Command those who are rich in this present world
not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on
God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

In other words; providence is where the real security is because God
controls it rather than market fluctuations.

Webster's defines "conceit" as an excessive appreciation of one's own worth
and/or virtue. It's is all too common for the rich and famous to exhibit an
aristocratic masters-of-the-universe demeanor, so to speak. In other words:
conceited people think of themselves as self-reliant; they don't need God for
anything; no, they can get by just fine without Him. In their mind's eye, only
the weak need religion.

● 1Tim 6:18-19 . . Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to
be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a
good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is
life indeed.

"that which is life indeed" refers to the divine nature about which Peter
wrote at 2Pet 1:4, which offers a lasting return on one's investment.

● Prov 19:17 . . He who is gracious to a poor man lends to The Lord, and He
will repay him for his good deed.
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314» 1Tim 6:20 . . Avoid impious and vain babblings, and oppositions of
science falsely so called:

Not all science is false. However, there are disciplines that fall into a
category called "theoretical" referring to unproven ideas and concepts in
chemistry, astronomy, geology, archeology, medicine, genetics,
paleontology, anthropology, history, literature, physics, engineering,
mathematics, etc.

Impious babbling probably refers to science-sounding arguments
deliberately intended to discredit the Bible, i.e. sophistry.

Vain babbling tells us that science-sounding arguments are futile; defined by
Webster's as trifling and frivolous, i.e. of no real practical use or value.

1Tim 6:20 is especially applicable to informal group discussions, i.e. forums,
bull sessions, and brain storming; conducted by people with a head full of
scientific opinions who likely haven't a clue what they're talking about.

For example: one day at work a man in the break room said he believes it's
arrogant to assume there is no other intelligent life in the universe but that
found on earth. You know why he said that? Because he heard it said first by
someone he admires, ergo: he was perpetuating false science in the form of
a respectable opinion.

People throw that spurious kind of stuff up to Christians all the time in
attempts to debunk their religion and prove that it deserves no more
credibility than myth, superstition, and/or fantasy. But seriously; don't
unproven scientific theories deserve the very same labels?
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315» 2Tim 1:8a . . Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord (cf. 1Pet
4:16-19)

Christianity is rooted in Jesus Christ. So when people identify themselves as
Christians they're saying that they're his followers; i.e. they're aligned with
him and they accept his teachings and his claims as the God's truth; while at
the same time categorizing themselves as kooks and religious fanatics; and
thus open to mockery and unkind gossip.

It's tough, but we have to bite the bullet lest when we meet Jesus, he gives
us the same look he gave Peter on the night of the Lord's arrest.

"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his
Father's glory with the holy angels." (Mark 8:38)

 

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316» 2Tim 1:8b . . Don't be ashamed of me his prisoner; but Join with me in
suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.

Peter distanced himself from Christ on the night of the Lord's arrest, no
doubt fearing that if he were to admit to being one of the Lord's associates,
he'd be arrested too. It appears Paul was concerned that Timothy, who was
normally a loyal associate, would do the same to him while he was behind
bars.

The power of God is involved in one's suffering for the gospel when He sets
you up for it.

● Phil 1:29 . . For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to
believe on him, but also to suffer for him.

Suffering for the Gospel doesn't necessarily include martyrdom. The more
common forms of suffering are privation, humiliation, threats, hunger, loss
of friends and family, ostracizing, ridicule, mockery, harsh criticism,
judgmental remarks, insults, intimidation, name calling, demeaning
comments, ugly insinuations, slander, teasing, harassment, bullying,
unfairness, prejudice, intolerance, disassociation, treachery, and betrayal; in
other words, the kinds of stuff that really get you right down in the gut.
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