I Timothy 1:5
Paul’s Epistles to Timothy were written in times similar to those in which we are living. Persecutions were breaking out, yet they had not reached their full intensity. The first wave of persecution was very effective in weeding out those who were only fair-weather soldiers. In I and II Timothy, we read about those who had turned against Paul because it was to their advantage, while there were others who simply dropped out. In these Epistles we see Timothy’s deep concern for Paul, and Paul’s concern for Timothy and for his ministry. That ministry had to be refined. The unnecessary had to be eliminated; only the essential areas could remain.
At this present time, we can apply the words of Paul to our own hearts and circumstances. According to the guidelines laid down in I and II Timothy, much of the material in so-called “Christian” books today would have to be rejected, because it contains “aimless speculations and fruitless words.” Paul wrote much about this, as he continually stressed the importance of the Word. He said, “Preach the Word. A time is coming in which men will not listen to it; they will not endure it.” The only thing that will bring people through times of sifting is a Living Word from God.
Why should we be concerned about establishing Kingdom schools at this present time? I John 2:27–28 tells us that as we are taught in Him, we will abide in Him and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. Teaching is very important at the beginning of a new era. It is also important in preparing the people for the times of shaking and sifting. Consequently, Paul exhorted Timothy, “Remember what you have been taught, and remember where you received it. Remember the first teaching that came to you; hold on to it.” Those who have not been taught in the Lord will waver when things are shaken. Those who have been taught will stand. Give diligence to fill your heart with the basic truths that God is speaking, lest you lose out completely in the day of testing. Be filled with the Word.
In writing to Timothy, Paul placed much emphasis on teaching. No doubt Timothy had a special aptitude for teaching. Also, Paul could trust him to gather the saints together, settle them down a little, and comfort them. Like Paul, Timothy faced assault in many areas of his life. Physically, he was beset by “frequent ailments” (I Timothy 5:23). Many things also came against his ministry and against the Word that he preached.
Because persecutions were abounding in those days, Paul’s Epistles to Timothy also emphasized suffering and the believer’s deliberate choice to suffer. Paul and Timothy could have chosen not to walk with God; they could have withdrawn. You have the same choice today. If you fear the persecutions that are on the horizon, you can bail out; there is still time. But first notice Paul’s words of encouragement to Timothy: “Make sure that you will be one of those soldiers who will endure hardness, one who will suffer according to the will of God.”
Like Timothy, we have a choice to make. We do not have to follow this way of humiliation. We do not have to be this humble; most Christians are not. We do not have to suffer and endure persecution. There are many movements that have a word very close to ours. Doesn’t it therefore seem unreasonable for us to face persecution just so that we can embrace a few more truths? Why do we not ignore the deeper truths that are often controversial, and just take the bulk of teaching that is more acceptable? We do not have to become this deeply involved, do we?
What did Paul convey to Timothy? “Choose to be involved. Stand up and be counted. Teach the people. Lay the foundation in their hearts, so that when all hell breaks loose against them, they will stand.”
I Timothy 1:3 is one of the many verses in these Epistles in which we see the emphasis on teaching. As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus, in order that you may instruct (notice that Timothy was to teach) certain men not to teach strange doctrines. It is amazing to see the many “wild gourds” (II Kings 4:39–40) that constantly appear on the scene—those who want to get away from the simplicity of the truth. The living gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to the end of the world. It is not a complicated doctrine; it is very simple to believe and yet extremely difficult to live. Essentially, it can be expressed in three words: Jesus is Lord. That embraces the whole idea of the Kingdom. It embraces everything that God is demanding of us. It is very simple to say, “Jesus is Lord,” but to really say it and mean it requires that the Holy Spirit move in your heart. No man can call Jesus “Lord” but by the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:3). This means that the Holy Spirit has moved and worked in you until that declaration has become the “bottom line” in your life.
Paul told Timothy to also teach certain men not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. I Timothy 1:4. The term “the administration” is often used in reference to the men in political office. We are waiting for another kind of administration to come on the scene: the administration of God, which is another way of saying “the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”
At the present time, there is a revival of “Anglo-Israelism”: some claim that they are descendants of the tribes of Israel who settled in the British Isles and elsewhere after the dispersion. They claim to be the true Israel. However, the true Israel that worships God is not necessarily determined by genealogy. Read the Scriptures for what they are! Romans 2:28 tells us, “He is not a Jew who is one outwardly.” Even if you could trace your lineage back to Judah or Benjamin, it would be pointless. Salvation is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. “There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). What difference does it make what you are after the flesh? It is what God has made you after the Spirit that counts. He is not a true spiritual Jew who is one outwardly only.
Every teacher must decide what he is trying to produce with his teaching. In verse 5, Paul tells us what our goal of instruction should be: But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. We must deplore the methods used by a teacher who is an egotist. A music teacher, for example, may first of all show his students what an excellent musician he himself is. Then he tries to impress the students further by using words that they do not understand. As a result, the students learn very little. Other teachers insist on grading pupils on a curve. Even if everyone in the class knows the subject well, the teacher feels that he must fail a certain number. Such instructors should not even be teaching. Their goal is to appear as demagogues whom students will look up to and fear.
Paul tells us, “Don’t just try to impress others with speculations and a lot of foolish things. Get right down to the real goal: love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” If that is produced in the children, then they have had a good instructor. A dedicated teacher in a true Kingdom school has a lofty, excellent goal; and that is to bring every young person into divine sonship. We are reaching to do something wonderful.
In verses 6 and 7, Paul wrote about “fruitless discussion” by those who were trying to impress others. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.
Don’t you want the Lord to loose you from your old ways of thinking? There are many different ways of thinking about a certain subject, and people are often quite eager to give their opinions concerning it. But it is the teaching that comes by revelation from God that gives the answer. It tells you how you are to think about it. Paul was telling Timothy how to think. He said, “Do not be ashamed of me in my bonds. Don’t be afraid. God has not given us a spirit of fear. Quiet your heart before the Lord” (II Timothy 1:7–8).
What has God given us? A spirit of fear? No, He has given us a spirit of power and love and a disciplined mind (II Timothy 1:7). The unbeliever thinks that this is a process of mind control. He says, “I want to fear as much as I want to fear; I want to believe whatever I want to believe.” That arrogance will never be diminished as long as his carnal mind is on the throne; and that is his privilege. But your approach is on a different basis. You are to “present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1–2). This is not mind control; it is mind renewal. We can come to think God’s thoughts after Him, feel God’s emotions after Him, and be filled with all the fullness of God Himself. This is God’s purpose for us (Ephesians 3:19).
II Timothy 2:14–15 gives further instructions to teachers. Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless, and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth. Although Paul was thinking of Timothy as a teacher, notice that he called him a workman. As a workman, a teacher has a great latitude in what he teaches and ministers to a child. If he wants to be effective, he should have this attitude: “I am a workman who must rightly handle the word of truth. I am a workman who must carefully choose materials that I build into the mind and heart of this child. I could waste his time by planting frivolous ideas in his mind. I could even give him almost the best. Or, I can build in him the very best: the Word of the living God.”
In verse 16, Paul warns, But avoid worldly and empty chatter… Words were meant to be filled, not empty. What is the difference between an empty word and a full word? Some preachers wrangle about useless words. Their words are empty—they do not contain anything real. We do not want to speak empty words that convey only a mental concept. We want to speak with an anointing that places divine substance in the word. Jesus is the Word. John 1:1 tells us, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus said, “My Words are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). Everything that He spoke was filled with Himself. And when we reach that plane of anointed teaching, by the Spirit of the Lord we can speak words that actually are filled with Christ.
Words are filled with something, and what they contain depends more upon the speaker than upon the hearer. If a word is empty when it is ministered, it does not automatically change into a word that is filled with God by the time it reaches the hearer. If you speak an empty word, it reaches the hearer as an empty word. That is why the speaker must be filled with the Spirit.
Paul tells us in Colossians 3:16 to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. Then the words we speak will be filled with God. I believe that we could be so filled with the Spirit of the Lord that even the simplest, halting words would cause people to fall under the power of God.
Sometimes people do not understand this, and they look for natural abilities. Those who looked for this in Paul said of him, “He does not have much to say. His speech is contemptible” (II Corinthians 10:10). He told them, “When I come, you will find out whose words are full.” We do not realize the authority and the power that are in the words that an anointed vessel speaks. Does this give you a new concept of teaching? Teaching is to be a ministry whereby we give more than ideas. God Himself is in those ideas! God Himself is conveyed in those words!
Jesus sent out the disciples by two’s, because every Word from God is to be confirmed at the mouth of two witnesses (Matthew 18:16). Everything God has to say becomes a binding Word to those who hear it; and they will either accept it or reject it as a Word from God.
But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and thus they upset the faith of some. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. II Timothy 2:16–18, 23.
When confusion exists in a church, the pastor may set about to preach sermons which deal with the problem. He may speak on gossip or preach a message on contention and division. He must be careful to do more than present his own ideas, for that alone will not be enough to stop the spiritual problem. Human ideas have never yet stopped the devil, and human ideas have never been able to bind a spirit of confusion.
Likewise, human ideas will never bring down rebellion in a classroom. Instead, pray for an anointing, that you can speak a word with authority. That word will heal; it will be like oil on the waters. Confronting someone about his problem will only lead to more quarrels, unless you are careful. But if you go to him with an anointing upon your spirit, the problem will be taken care of.
II Timothy 2:24–26: And the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. Those who are in deception must come to their senses and become aware of the problem.
What did Isaiah mean when he wrote that the Word of God will not return void, but will accomplish His purpose? (Isaiah 55:11.) Many Christians misinterpret that Scripture, thinking that everyone who preaches is bringing the Word of God. Actually, there are many kinds of preaching. A man who opens the Bible and expounds a text may think that he is preaching the Word of God, when it could be of no greater significance than if the devil himself were speaking. The devil probably would have quoted more Scriptures than the preacher did. Quoting Scriptures does not produce a good sermon. Many men who teach false doctrine quote lots of Scriptures. Isaiah did not say that quotations of the Word will not return void; he said that the Word of God itself will not return void. When the devil quotes the Scriptures, it is never a Word from God. It is a distortion, a misquotation. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted from Psalm 91, saying, “He will give His angels charge over You, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.” That was Scripture, but it was not a Word from God. It was a word from Satan, a distortion of a verse from the ninety-first Psalm.
It is not enough to quote the Word; we must speak the Word in the Spirit. Reading it exactly as it is written in an accurate translation is also not enough. The same Spirit must rest upon us that rested upon those holy men of old when they wrote the Word of God. They did not always know what they were doing. Sometimes they inquired diligently concerning the time or place, or about whom they were writing (I Peter 1:10–11). It was often a mystery to them, but they knew that something was burning within their hearts. Jeremiah, the prophet, even wrote, “If I say that I will not speak any more in His name, then His Word becomes in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it. So I open my mouth and speak” (Jeremiah 20:9). He had to speak it.
Merely quoting Scripture is quite different than speaking that Scripture with the same Spirit upon it that was on the men of God who wrote it. When the anointing of the Holy Spirit takes that Word off of a cold printed page and places it in your bones like a burning fire, then you can speak a Word from God. It is foolish to quote it without that anointing, thinking that it will not return void because it is a quotation of God’s Word. It is almost a useless effort for a pastor to preach a sermon without an anointing, thinking that he will build a church for God.
God wants anointed teaching. Every teacher should have the desire to be anointed by God to build a bridge to the heart of the children, so that every word he speaks will be filled with God Himself reaching deeply into the lives of those children. Then he will be very effective.
A teacher might reason, “But I teach only mathematics.” Mathematics can be taught in amazing ways too. When Jesus fed the five thousand, several lessons in arithmetic were involved. There were five thousand men, besides all the women and children. Jesus told the disciples to have these thousands of people sit down in groups of fifty each. They had to count how many baskets of food were left over. Wouldn’t it be marvelous if we could teach arithmetic to our children by having them count the miracles that are being done?
In II Timothy 3:10–11, Paul wrote to Timothy, But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra (where Paul was stoned and left for dead); what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me! After being picked up by Paul in Asia Minor on his second missionary journey, young Timothy went on to become a mighty apostle of the Lord, humbly walking over all the known Roman world, preaching a word. He followed Paul’s teaching, conduct, and the purpose of his life. He followed Paul’s faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings.
Sometimes people like to pick apart the teachings that come forth in the Living Word. However, it is very difficult to criticize it, for it is scripturally oriented. You never arrive at it by reason; you only arrive at it by revelation. But after you have a revelation of it, it will be difficult for anyone to reason you out of it.
Those who persecute tend to base their criticism on a few teachings with which they disagree. In their ignorance and oppression, they do not realize the only right way to evaluate one who speaks a Living Word: What is the man saying? Look at his conduct, his purpose, his faith. Observe his patience, his love, and his perseverance. What is he getting out of it? What persecutions? What sufferings? Follow his teaching, follow his conduct, follow his goals, and you will find that the Word he speaks has possessed his whole life.
Paul said, And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. II Timothy 3:12–13.
We know that the Living Word is true and that apostles and prophets are coming forth on the present scene, speaking a true Living Word. The greatest proof that the true has come is the fact that Satan is bringing his counterfeits within the Church—critics, false prophets, false teachers, arrogant ones who are far more presumptuous in their conclusions than any real apostle would ever dare to be. There are many who appear to be very godly. They have a press agent to show how godly they are. They use just the right mannerisms to project an image of goodness. However, remember that counterfeit money is never made until after the genuine is in circulation. The presence of the counterfeit and the false shows that Satan recognizes that the true has come, and he seeks to discredit it.
How can we tell what is real? Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples” (if you have teachers to show you what is false doctrine? no—), “if you have love for one another.” John 13:35. Truth is not present in the orthodoxy that tries to tear down the Living Word. Those efforts are only an evidence of hypocrisy.
What about the counterfeit? When you hear a word, you should “bite lightly on that coin.” This old test tells whether or not it is genuine. After a while, you can discern the false when it comes on the scene, because it does not have the positive element that is found in the true; nor is it filled with Christ and glorifying to Him.
A young brother made a simple statement recently that moved me deeply. He said, “I never really knew what a walk with God was all about until I spent some time with you and saw how you live, what your purposes and motivations are, that you live what you teach. You are not trying to promote yourself or sell anything to anyone. Those who are around you can see how you live the Word, and how real it is to you.” No testimonial could have blessed me more than this one did. Critics may try to pick our teachings to pieces. But when they see our conduct, our motivation, and the reality of the Word that lives in our heart, they will realize that we are not peddling some little pet doctrine, but we are living what we teach. We live by it and we may yet die for it too.
Paul warned Timothy about evil men and impostors who were going from bad to worse. Then he said, You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them. II Timothy 3:14. How had he learned them? He had followed Paul’s teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings. He learned them from Paul.
Again we see the pattern that made them all so effective: the close proximity of Paul to Timothy, and of Timothy to the elders and ministries who then also became able to teach others. It was not the transmitting of a doctrine; it was more than doctrine, and the same is true today. It is the teaching. It is the conduct. It is the way of life. It is the motivation. It is the way people live, the way they suffer, the way they pray for each other, the way they go through it day after day. We echo the words of Paul to Timothy, “Remember where you learned these things.” If the Living Word that is coming today is a teaching that someone can talk you into, then someone else can come along and talk you out of it.
It is possible to be around a person and not really know him. An individual may become critical of me, even though he likes the teaching I bring. In his criticism, he draws certain false conclusions. Although I do not feel the need to become defensive about this, yet it does grieve me, for I realize that his criticism stems from the fact that he does not really know me. Others, however, who have been around me, catch the same vision that I feel. I know that I am laying down my life for the brethren, and before long they are willing to lay down their lives also. It is real. We see one another’s heart. What is important is not just what we say, but the Spirit in what we say and how we ourselves are filled with it.
Paul said, And that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. II Timothy 3:15–17. Let me make a statement which you may challenge if you do not believe what else has been said in this word. The knowledge of the Scriptures in itself will not make you wise unto salvation. This is especially true of those who search the Scriptures only to find errors and contradictions. They are so filled with arrogance that they never become wise. Instead, they are only feeding themselves more material to build up the mountain of their ignorance concerning the Scriptures.
The faith that was in Timothy he had seen first in his mother and his grandmother (II Timothy 1:5). He had also seen it in Paul as he observed Paul’s conduct, teachings, and persecutions. When the Scriptures were being lived out in another person, they became effective. Those were the Scriptures that made him wise unto salvation. Paul himself kept speaking of this.
If we were to give Bibles to everyone in the world, I know that it would do some good. Instead, let us get a handful of dedicated people and write this Word in their hearts—not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. Then let us send them forth, living epistles read and known of all men (II Corinthians 3:2–3). Let us send out Pauls and Timothys by the dozens. That will be the gospel, the edition of the Word that no one can gainsay. The world may try to persecute it and blot it out because they hate the vessel who presents the Word; but it will prevail. Jesus said, “I came, and I brought a Word. If they have believed My Word, they will believe your word also. If they receive Me, they will receive you” (John 15:20). Why is that? The same Living Word of God that was in Christ is living in us; and it comes forth under the same anointing. If they have received Christ, they will receive you. If they have not received His Word, they will not receive your word either.
Paul concluded his Epistles to Timothy with a solemn charge to preach the Word. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word. (Paul was saying, “Do not only speak the Word. Be it! Do it! Convey it!”) Be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
What about Paul? He said, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. II Timothy 4:1–7.
Lord, make us like Timothy, that we can receive this word from Paul. Make us like Timothy, that we will not speak tedious little explanations, empty words, fruitless discussions, empty speculations, words that are only sound with nothing in them, that echo against a blank wall and then die out. We want living words of God, words that are filled with Christ.
The reality of the Word exists on various levels. When we say that we will voice God’s Word into existence, we mean that its existence must come on another plane. For instance, everything already existed in the heart of God when He said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3); yet for the first time, light came forth on a physical plane. We say, “We are blessed with all spiritual blessings” (Ephesians 1:3). God has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). This is the promise. It is ours. It is like money in our pocket. But when we speak the Word into a material or physical existence, then we can spend the money!
People rejoice in the Living Word because it is alive. His Words are Spirit and they are life (John 6:63). They are Living Words. The Word of God is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). Everything came out of that Word. Through faith we understand that the ages were created by a Word from God (Hebrews 11:3). We now live in a world of decay and futility, and the only thing that will cause this decay and futility to give way is the creative, Living Word from God. When we speak that living, creative Word, life and renewal will come forth. Everything that God wants comes through that Word. Oh, how we open our hearts to pray, “Lord, fill us with that Word. Let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly!”