For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now and of that which is to come.For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.for bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come.
5 sermons cite this verse
we ask, gracious Father, that you will take your truth, plant it deep in us, and shape and fashion us in the likeness of your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen. Well, what I want us to spend this first session doing is taking seriously the notion of being a good servant of Christ Jesus, as Paul puts it here to Timothy. If you do these things, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus. Now, the framework in which we consider this, indeed the context in which chapter 4 is set, is very, very straightforward. forward. If you look at verse 14 of chapter 3, there Paul explains, I hope to come to you soon. He's not there, but I am writing these things to you so that if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. So, at the moment, he says, I'm not with you, but it is imperative, Timothy, that you know and that your congregation also understands what it means for you to fulfill the calling that you have. And very specifically, although we won't spend time on this, the opening five verses here of chapter 4 further provide the context. What he's describing there is departure from the faith, people who have been led astray by deceitful spirits. These deceitful spirits have come to them, not in some magical way, but demon-inspired doctrines had gained an entry into their world …
contentment and godliness are horse and cart. They go hand in hand. Paul has already distinguished in 1 Timothy 4.8 between physical values and spiritual values. He says, Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things. And when we tackled those verses, we said how people say, As long as you have your health, that's all that matters. And we said, No, that's not all that matters, because a healthy body with a sick soul is a tragic thing. And so people will say, Well, as long as you're contented, that's all that matters. No, it's not all that matters, because contentment and godliness are completely interwoven in the instruction of Scripture. Now, this is borne out when we realize that the word for contentment, which Paul is using here, autarchia, means, essentially, self-sufficiency. And the Stoic philosophers made much of this word. Indeed, it was one of their favorite words. Because remember, the Stoics, unlike the Epicureans, who were just immersing themselves in stuff, the Stoics found their life and lifestyle in distancing themselves from the surrounding environment. And so the apex for the Stoic was a sense of self-sufficiency whereby they were removed from all of the clamor and from all of the clutter of stuff that was offered to them as a source of satisfaction. …
… And then in particular, maybe you're listening for this, when does 1 Timothy 4.8 come? This is a spot right here, 1 Timothy 4.8, that affirms the value of training our bodies. Remember, when we get to 1 Timothy 4.8, that's not a revelation that's coming to us in our modern sedentary society. This is 2,000 years ago where they walked everywhere they went. They didn't sit in front of screens all day. They had the normal life of 10,000-plus steps a day or whatever that would have been. And into that context, Paul would commend the value, some value of bodily training. So all the more in our day when life has become so much more sedentary. Third then, spiritual health is ultimate. Physical health is not. This is a tough point to quite get in the right proportions. Tony and I both emphasize this in our projects. you may want to say it another way that related to exercise there's an asymmetrical relationship between our eternal souls and the temporary body there's the bodily upgrade that's coming the glorious body coming but there's an asymmetrical relationship there between the soul and the body i think it's an important clarification because you know how these pendulum swing. If you have an instance where someone's emphasizing the soul, the soul, the soul, body doesn't matter, and we need to correct that, and so we say both body and soul, they both matter. …
Put those five qualities together and you have the truly meek man—humble, gentle, patient, forgiving and contented—the very opposite of the man who is proud, harsh, angry, revengeful and ambitious. It is only the Grace of God, as it works in us by the Holy Spirit, that can make us thus meek. There have been some who have thought themselves meek when they were not. The Fifth Monarchy men, in Cromwell's day, said that they were meek and that they were, therefore, to inherit the earth—so they wanted to turn other men out of their estates and houses so that they might have them—and thereby they proved that they were not meek! For if they had been, they would have been content with what they had and let other people enjoy what belonged to them. There are some people who are very gentle and meek as long as nobody tries them. We are, all of us, remarkably good-tempered while we have our own way. But the true meekness which is a work of Grace will stand the fire of persecution and will endure the test of enmity, cruelty and wrong—even as the meekness of Christ did upon the Cross of Calvary. II. Now, in the second place, let us think of HOW THE MEEK INHERIT THE EARTH. Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." This promise is similar to the Inspired declaration of Paul, "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." So first, it is the meek man who inherits the earth, for he is the earth's conqueror. He is the conqueror of the world whenever he goes. William the Conqueror came to England with sword and fire, but the Christian conqueror wins his victories in a superior manner by the weapons of kindness and meekness. In Puritan times there was an eminent and godly minister named Mr. Deering, who has left some writings that are still valuable. While sitting at a table one day, a graceless fellow insulted him by throwing a glass of beer in his face. The good man simply took his handkerchief, wiped his face and went on eating his dinner. The man provoked him a second time by doing the same thing—and he even did it a third time with many oaths and blasphemy. Mr. Deering made no reply, but simply wiped his face and, on the third occasion, the man came and fell at his feet and said that the spectacle of his Christian meekness, and the look of tender, pitying love that Mr. Deering had cast upon him, had quite subdued him. So the good man was the conqueror of the bad one! No Alexander …
If we have not this good hope through Divine Grace, we may well say that our affliction is not light. I cannot imagine how any of you, my Hearers, can go on living without a Savior —you poor people, you hard-working people, you sickly, consumptive people—how can you live without a Savior? I wonder how those who are rich and who have an abundance of earthly comforts can live on, year after year, without any hope (except a false one) of comfort and blessing in the life that is to come? But as for you who have so few earthly comforts, you whose life is one long struggle for bare existence, you who scarcely know what it is to have a day without pain, how can you live without a Savior Remember that "godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to some." So, "seek you the Lord while He may be found, call you upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." May the Lord give you the Grace to come to Him this very moment! And to Him shall be all the Glory forever, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.