1 Timothy 4:8 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Timothy 4:8

Comments

‘For bodily exercise profiteth little:’, or ‘a little’ – only a small amount, and only for a short time – ‘but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.’ So your hour in the gym profits you a little whereas godliness profits you a great deal. And your hour in the gym profits you only for a short time, because if you don't keep it up you lose any benefits and any fitness very quickly. But godliness will take you all the way to glory. What is godliness? You might think that the word godliness simply refers to holy living, and in a general sense it does. But most specifically, the original has the word for reverence for God. It's used by the pagans – reverence for the gods – but in the New Testament it's reverence for the one true and living God. That reverence seems to be the chief matter of these verses. There are other aspects of godliness which are touched upon in verse 12, but the head of these is reverence. It's mentioned several times in chapter 6. We must consent to the doctrine which is according to godliness, to reverence for God (verse 3); we must not believe that godliness has to do with of earthly gain (verse 5); and yet godliness truly brings great gain (verse 6); what is important is righteousness, the general word. and then godliness, reverence for God. So the key word is godliness, and then there are the things that flow from it 1 Timothy 4:12. ‘Having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.’ Reverence seems to pick up the promises of God better than anything. You want to be buoyed up by the promises of God and keep them in mind and really encouraged by them? Reverence takes hold of them. If you can only be reverent every time you take a journey, and bring it before the Lord; even if it is a brief prayer, remind yourself that you are in his hands. Reverence won't get you eternal life; only Christ and his shed blood and his offering of righteousness on your behalf can do that. So this is probably talking about assurance of eternal life. It will be much more real to you; it will bring it near, and you won't fear death.

Application

Bodily exercise has some benefits, but it can be costly. It costs time; it may sometimes cost money; it may sometimes cost sanctification if it makes you vain. Some of the bodily exercise which is adopted today, to which the young are being very tempted, carries dangers. If you take some medicine that's prescribed to you, in the packet, there's always that formidable leaflet which tells you all the side effects. One in 100 people may get these side effects; one in 1,000 may get rarer side effects. But that should be done with bodily exercise. It should come with a consent form for Christians and a list of warnings. Here are the things that one in so many people gets as a result. These days, so many of the gyms are wall-to-wall mirrors, and there is great pressure not just to be fit, but to be better than other people. It isn't one in a 100 people who get this; it could be one in 3. You get proud; you feel superior; you get addicted. You may become a narcissist – insensitive and indifferent to other people, and only gazing at yourself; you will do everything for you. Where did all that get encouraged? In that gym. So we need to be careful. These things for Christians come with a spiritual health warning.

Irreverence has seeped even into church life and into worship. Churches have gone over to lightweight worship, irreverent worship, prayers that are all about me and us. ‘Thank you, Lord, for saving me, for doing this for me.’ They are legitimate in their place, but when we begin to worship, we must acknowledge the greatness of God. We must adore him, and revere him, and bow to him. It is the worship of God, and we do not take central stage. After adoration comes thanksgiving: thanksgiving for all that God is and has done. Yes, thanksgiving for all that he has done for us, but that comes further down the list. How wrong that the list has been overturned! Many now start the service with a causal prayer from which the congregation can learn nothing about the awesome nature of God, and focus is on me and my concerns. Reverence is so important in worship: not the adoption of the world, not tunes, melodies and beats that please my flesh, but sentiments directed to God which honour him so that my emotional system comes into line with them and responds to them.

It is just a word for reverence. It is used of one’s attitude to the gods in heathen times, or to the one true God. I am determined to hold onto spiritual priorities, and to put the Lord first, and not to live merely as part Christian, part worldling. Is there anybody living like that? You love the Lord, you believe your sins are washed away, you believe you are born again, you may even know the doctrines of grace, but you are only half a Christian, only half engaged for the Lord, only attending one service a week. You don’t attend the Prayer Meeting, or the mid-week Bible Study; you don’t join with the people of God in fulfilling the great commission.

Just like the athlete, the believer is always reviewing his performance. What was my time today? Am I getting on better? So the person who gymnasticizes unto godliness is always reviewing his or her performance. Am I falling away? Am I pressing on? Am I witnessing? Am I praying to the Lord for blessing? Am I serving him? Am I committed? There's always self-examination and self-review, but the person who exercises himself spiritually gets a great benefit not only in this life, but in the life which is to come. It benefits not only individuals but also whole churches, and it adds and it protects. There are so many promises in the Scripture that say that this is so.

Superficially it may seem that it is much better to just drift with the tide, whatever is happening in the churches of Christ, whatever gimmicks are coming in, whatever worldliness is coming along, just to ride with everything. ‘Why be somebody who must examine everything to make sure it's right? Why conform your church to the word of God, conform your life to the word of God? Why be like that? You will make yourself sometimes very unpopular by doing that. Why stand aside from worldly pleasures and worldly enjoyments, and put the Lord first in his service? You could be enjoying yourself night after night. If you are athletic you could be pursuing all sorts of recreational games, or you could be glued to the television or you could be going out to shows and films. Why be the kind of person who makes your pleasure the service of the Lord? Because if you exercise yourself in that direction and, if you have these priorities, this has promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. The Scripture is full of promises about how such a life will be blessed by God.

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1 Timothy 4:8 Commentary and Bible Study