The Book of 1 TIMOTHY
James J. Barker

Lesson 12
O MAN OF GOD

Text: 1 TIMOTHY 6:11-21

INTRODUCTION:


  1. In I Timothy 6:11, the apostle Paul says to Timothy, "But thou, O man of God..."
  2. It is wonderful to be addressed or referred to as a "man of God."
  3. Moses is called the man of God in Deuteronomy 33:1, and Joshua 14:6, and Psalm 90:1.
  4. Samuel is called "a man of God" in I Samuel 9:6.
  5. And David is called "the man of God" in Nehemiah 12:24.
  6. Elijah the prophet is called "a man of God" in II Kings 1. Elisha is called a man of God in II Kings 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 13.
  7. In fact, in the Old Testament there are several prophets referred to as men of God.
  8. But the term is not used exclusively for prophets and preachers (cf. II Tim. 3:16, 17).

  1. THE MAN OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT HE FLEES FROM
  2. THE MAN OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT HE FOLLOWS AFTER
  3. THE MAN OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT HE FIGHTS AGAINST
  4. THE MAN OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT HE IS FAITHFUL TO

 

I. THE MAN OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT HE FLEES FROM

  1. He flees from the love of money, covetousness, materialism, etc. (6:10, 11).
  2. He should also flee from pride and some of the other sins mentioned in this passage (6:4, 5).
  3. He flees from immorality. Second Timothy 2:22 says, "Flee also youthful lusts."

 

II. THE MAN OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT HE FOLLOWS AFTER (6:11b).

  1. Second Timothy 2:22 says, "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
  2. "Righteousness" (6:11) refers to justice and integrity.
  3. "Godliness" (6:11) is literally "God-likeness."
  4. "Faith" (6:11) means trusting Jesus throughout all of life's circumstances. Our Lord said to Peter in Mark 11:22, "Have faith in God."

    5.           Trusting as the moments fly,
              Trusting as the days go by;
              Trusting Him whate’er befall,
              Trusting Jesus, that is all.    --  Edgar P. Stites

  5. "Love" (6:11) -- we are to love God and love one another. Jesus said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:37-40).
  6. "Patience" (6:11) means steadfast endurance under life's trials and persecutions.
  7. "Meekness" (6:11) goes beyond patience. It refers to gentleness of temper. We should not insist upon "our rights."
  8. Some things we should flee, and some things we should follow after (6:11). We should pray, we should read the Bible, we should give to the Lord's work, we should win souls, etc. because the man of God is known by what he follows after.

 

III. THE MAN OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT HE FIGHTS AGAINST (6:12).

  1. We are in a fight with the world, the flesh, and the devil. The apostle Paul was certainly a fighter (cf. 1:18).
  2. Paul said in II Timothy 4:7, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith..."
  3. Paul wrote in II Timothy 2:3 and 4, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."
  4. The proclamation of the true Gospel always involves a conflict with the opponents of the Gospel. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 16:9, "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries."

 

IV. THE MAN OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT HE IS FAITHFUL TO (6:12-21).

  1. "Lay hold on eternal life" (6:12). Albert Barnes said, "Lay hold on eternal life as the crown of victory that is held out to you. Seize this as eagerly as the competitors at the Grecian games laid hold on the prize."
  2. We have here a seven-fold description of the Lord Jesus Christ:
  1. Christ "is the blessed and only Potentate" (6:15), i.e., the only true God, the mighty ruler over the universe.
  2. "The King of kings" (6:15)
  3. "And Lord of lords" (6:15; cf. Rev. 17:14; 19:16). Christ is sovereign God.
  4. "Who only hath immortality" (6:16). God is the only One who has immortality inherently. Angels have had immortality conferred upon them, and at the resurrection we will receive immortal bodies, according to I Corinthians 15:53 and 54. "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (I Cor. 15:53). But God has immortality in Himself -- He is eternal. Psalm 90:2 says, "From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."
  5. "Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto" (6:16). This speaks of God's glory, His Holiness, and His majesty. In Scripture, heaven is constantly represented as a place of the most pure and brilliant light, and this is where God dwells. King Solomon said, "God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few" (Eccl. 5:2).
  6. "Whom no man hath seen" (6:16). John 1:18 says, "No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
  7. "Nor can see" (6:16). God is invisible. The LORD said to Moses, "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live" (Exodus 33:20).

 

CONCLUSION:

  1. In the final verses of this epistle, Paul gives another charge to Timothy (6:17). The rich are often "highminded" (6:17), and there is the danger of trusting in "uncertain riches" (6:17).
  2. Distributing their wealth is a good way to avoid being proud and greedy and covetous (6:18, 19).
  3. "Keep that which is committed to thy trust" (6:20) means to guard the truth of the Gospel like an armed guard protects a big bank deposit.
  4. We are to avoid "profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science (evolution, global warming, etc.) falsely so called" (6:20, 21).
  5. Albert Barnes said, "Religion has nothing to fear from true science, and the minister of the gospel is not exhorted to dread that. Real science, in all its advances, contributes to the support of religion; and just in proportion as that is promoted will it be found to sustain the Bible, and to confirm the claims of religion to the faith of mankind...It is only false or pretended science that religion has to dread, and which the friend of Christianity is to avoid. The meaning here is, that Timothy was to avoid everything which falsely laid claim to being 'knowledge' or 'science.' There was much of this in the world at the time the apostle wrote; and this, more perhaps than anything else, has tended to corrupt true religion since."
  6. Paul concludes with grace (6:21b).

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