1 Timothy 6:1–10

The harness that ties an animal to a cart or plough; and the beam that joins two animals together for any kind of work. It stands as a symbol of servitude and slavery.

Some might praise up other masters; others might dislike or run down their own. Neither attitude comes from faith or suits a Christian. It is no question what their own masters might be: Jew or heathen, vain or proud, immoral or self-righteous, mean, ambitious, or anything else. If God's providence had placed them under a bondman's obligations, they were responsible to Him for counting them worthy of all honour — not because they deserved this or that praise, but simply because these men were their own masters.

Servants are to pay their masters all the respect that fits their position. This has nothing to do with the personal character of the master. God tells us to honour kings, and all in authority, because of the office they hold. In the same way He commands servants to respect their masters because of their position.

Slavery is foreign to Christianity. But putting earthly wrongs right was not the Lord's object in His first coming; that will only happen when He comes again. So the will of God for His people now is to accept the conditions that mark their times, and in them adorn the doctrine and honour His name.

Christianity takes men in the social position in which it finds them, and shows how they may live Christ in that place. It is not busy remodelling society, but teaching the believer to show Christ. He was to be subject to the governing powers; and since these allowed slavery, he was to obey the laws here as in other matters, seeking freedom by lawful means if he could, but if not, being content with his lot.

Notice, it is "God and His doctrine." Why? Because it is a question of power. The name of Christ and His doctrine would put the master and servant on a level, as members of one body. In Christ Jesus there is no distinction. But when I go out into the world, I meet God's moral government, which makes one a master and another a servant. Any breach of that government will meet with certain judgement.

Christian servants are sometimes very lax; and when this is so, the name of God and His teaching is blasphemed on their account. But God is faithful. Whatever the difficulties of their position, if there is only dependence on Himself, He will sustain them. And if by their behaviour they adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour, He will cause the fragrance of the name of Christ to spread through them, all through the household in which they live.

He "took the form of a servant." Though He had every right to be free, He paid the tax rather than give offence. So the believing servant, under the cruellest and most tyrannical treatment, was to show out the life of Christ in him.

The apostle condemns without reserve any man who taught a different teaching. To undermine the relation of a servant to a master was serious in his eyes, and no less so when people put forward fine excuses and grand-sounding claims. For the duty of subjection flows from the relation; and the faith of those involved strengthens it rather than relaxing it.

Having a believing master might seem to promise only comfort and blessing, and no doubt the difference in atmosphere would be great. But every position has its snares and difficulties. Believing masters and servants are just as likely to expect a great deal from each other as to be badly disappointed.

When the masters were believers, there was naturally more familiarity, for they were one in Christ. From this came the danger — for the flesh is crafty — that the servants might not treat their masters with the respect due to them. The apostle guards against this abuse of Christian love, and of the proper closeness and confidence that ought to exist between brothers. That closeness was, on the contrary, a reason for the servant to give all honor to his master, treating him with more love and with the same respect.

In the early church it might easily happen that those "under the yoke" misunderstood the new truth. They might assert their equality with their masters, and, because they were one in Christ, be tempted to claim exemption from the service required of them. This instruction was meant to meet that temptation. It teaches that equal standing in Christ leaves earthly distinctions untouched. It is true that master and servant, if believers, are brothers. It is also true that, as far as this world is concerned, they are still master and servant. Christianity does not change or wipe out social arrangements and distinctions; it preserves and strengthens them.

The Spirit of God knows how ready the human heart is to take advantage of such circumstances. In the assembly of God, at the Lord's table, the believing master and servant are brothers and members of one body. Outside relationships have no place there. But in the shop or on the farm it is otherwise, and we do well not to forget it.

Faith does exalt the lowly and humble the proud. But it does not misuse fellowship in the Spirit to claim equality in the flesh. Instead, it teaches believers not to despise their masters because of what they know. It teaches them to serve all the more, because those who reap their good service are believing and beloved.

In the assembly the slave and the master were on common ground, equal before the Lord. There the slave might even be more prominent than his master, because of his spirituality or gift. But believing slaves were not to grow slack in their duties to masters who were believers. Instead, they were to serve them, because those masters were faithful and beloved and partakers of Christian benefits.

If the master were a believer, the slave might be inclined to despise him for supporting the principle of slavery while he himself was a brother. But no — the slave was all the more responsible to serve his master, because the master was "faithful and beloved, partaker of the benefit." Learning to serve well is one of the blessed glories of true Christianity. "Teach and urge these things" — they are of no small importance.

It teaches the Christian to give full and proper pay to those he employs. It teaches the tradesman to give full measure, and avoid any trick that brings dishonest gain. It teaches the workman to give steady and honest work — as careful when no one is watching as when someone is. And if anyone has a believing master, or a believing servant, he must take no advantage of that fact, as 1 Timothy 6:2 shows.

It seems that in those early days there were people who taught otherwise. They saw Christianity as only a way to improve people's social conditions and make this world a better, brighter place. They were probably teaching that a converted slave now came under the Lordship of Christ. So he could think of himself as free from his master on earth. Such views, however, were contrary to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the teaching which is according to piety.

Some may think it strange that the apostle speaks so firmly to Timothy. But weigh the moral judgment of this very sober servant of the Lord, made under the direct power of the inspiring Spirit. No one who fears God will accuse him of undue severity. Yet he condemns without reserve any man who taught a different teaching from what has been laid down. To undermine the relation of a servant to a master was wicked in his eyes. It was no less wicked because fine pretexts and high-sounding professions were put forward. The duty of submission flows from the relationship itself. The faith of those involved strengthens that duty; it does not relax it.

The word translated "sound" occurs again and again. It is the word from which we get "hygienic," so often on people's lips today. It means healthful. Sound doctrine really is teaching that makes for spiritual health.

We are custodians of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and they are written here. But it is not enough to own a copy of the whole Scriptures. We need the sound and healthful words of our Lord Jesus Christ and His servants in our hearts. They have the power to keep us from evil. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ never become corrupt, because they are, as they are called here, "sound words."

What the Lord Jesus spoke carried the character of grace, truth and wisdom, and people marvelled at it. That was not all. He was a divine Person, so the very form of language His blessed words took was divinely perfect. Language with Him was what it could not be with anyone else. It was the means by which He perfectly conveyed what He wished to communicate.

Think what it is to be a sinner who owes every mercy to grace in Christ. Would such a person dare to keep on in direct opposition to His words? He is the Lord of all and the appointed Judge of the living and the dead. Would anyone be so satisfied with his own theories and arguments that he despises what the apostle says — that such teaching cannot stand with what is according to godliness?

Piety is confidence in the known and living God. That confidence leads the believer to walk in the holy fear of God through all the circumstances of life. It recognises and honours God. So it is the very opposite of the show of holiness that seeks to exalt self.

The Holy Spirit will not allow that "godliness", or Christian piety, can exist without the truth. Nor will He allow that the truth can be received in the love of it without producing godliness. The truth means living Godward.

The man who teaches otherwise is "puffed up": his own self-importance has inflated him. He has not learned self-judgment. He has never seen himself in the light of the cross of Christ, as a sinner condemned and worthless. He is "sick about questions and strifes of words." He has no spiritual health. He may love to argue about the logic and virtue of human rights, but he ignores the rights of God.

The Apostle writes very plainly about these opponents. He unmasks their true character. They were marked by pride and ignorance. How often these two things go together! The less a man knows of God and of himself the more he imagines he has something to boast in. The true knowledge of God and of himself at once dispels his pride.

The Apostle has shown that piety is the safeguard against the abuse of Christianity. Now he states that the one who teaches otherwise is moved by the pride of the flesh. Pride trusts in self and works to keep up its own importance. Piety trusts in God and seeks His glory. The two are complete opposites.

We are sanctified by the truth, not by a truth. But human one-sidedness is only the knowledge that puffs up. It always boasts that its own measure is all that is worth hearing, and it boasts all the more the narrower it is... Partial views are only "knowledge." They tend to feed the self-importance that values only those who agree with self. Such a man looks down on believers who know less — and even on those who are better taught and hold to the truth without reserve.

Listen to how the apostle whips the offender: "He is puffed up, knowing nothing, but sick about questionings and word-disputes." Is it not a true likeness of a mind at work without conscience or heart?

Verse 4 also makes plain the effect of rejecting the authority of the Lord. Questions and strifes of words come to the fore. This of course is inevitable. Once a man sets the Lord's authority aside, it all becomes a question of opinion. And if so, one man's opinion is as good as another. Arguments and word-battles can then run on almost endlessly, and all kinds of envy and strife flourish.

The pride that seeks to exalt self by these endless questions must inevitably lead to "envy", for the proud man can bear no rival. Naturally the flesh will strive against the one it envies. So envy leads to strife, and striving against another will lead to "injurious words" about him. When people learn that "injurious words" are being spoken, "evil suspicions" and constant quarrelling follow. Such is the evil crop that arises from envy... It was envy that led to the first murder in this world; and it was envy that led to the greatest murder in this world. Pilate "knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up" (Matthew 27:18).

In Scripture this word does not always mean speaking evil of God, though that is the only way we use the word today. Translators render the same Greek word as 'railing' in 1 Timothy 6:4 and Jude 9, and 'evil speaking' in Ephesians 4:31. It could well be translated that way in other places too.

Self-judgment keeps us best. It keeps us aware of our own smallness and in love to all the saints. It keeps us from being puffed up in self-satisfaction and contempt for other believers generally... Whatever its form, this evil betrays its foreign source and nature by its plain neglect of the teaching that is according to piety.

Such disputes of words do not strengthen piety. They only give the works of the flesh a chance to show. Pride seeks to exalt self by these endless questions, and it must lead to "envy". The proud man can put up with no rival. The flesh strives against the one it envies. So envy leads to strife, and striving against another leads to "injurious words" about him. When a man learns that "injurious words" have been spoken about him, "evil suspicions" and "constant quarrellings" follow. Such is the evil crop that arises from envy. There is no greater power for evil among the saints of God than the allowance of envy in the heart.

But they are skilled at manipulating and wrangling — noisy quarreling — because their minds are corrupted. The truth is foreign to them. They are empty, yet they hold that material gain is godliness.

There need be no question about the last clause. Even apart from the next verse and the context, the Greek phrase here will not carry the meaning the authorised version gives it. The Greek article requires "that godliness is gain," not the reverse.

The truth is that God, not gain, is the end of godliness. Yet the Apostle adds a striking word: "godliness with contentment is great gain." To walk as in the presence of the living God, with simple trust in His goodness and a contented heart, is very great gain of a spiritual kind.

The motive behind such men is earthly gain, so they hold that "gain" is the end of piety. In other words, they teach that Christianity is only a way to improve our condition and add to our worldly advantage. From the history of Job we know that this is a suggestion of the devil. Job was a pious man who feared God. But Satan asks, "Does Job fear God for nothing?" His vile suggestion is that no such thing as godliness exists. If a man professes piety, it is not that he fears God or cares for God. He simply knows it pays and works to his worldly advantage.

So here was an outbreak of "the leaven of Herod" — a deliberate move to make Christianity a matter of worldly profit. Today the leaven of Herod is hard at work. Many are quite ready to condemn the idea that personal or private gain is the end of godliness. Yet they would loudly applaud the idea that SOCIAL gain is the end of godliness. "Other-worldliness" they detest. "This-worldliness" they delight in. For them, religion is nothing more than an easier, more comfortable world, built on better social conditions and world peace.

The words "from such withdraw yourself" are not in the better manuscripts. The word used is APHISTEEMI — "withdraw, depart from, refrain from." Adding it would not change the sense.

Timothy is told to withdraw from such men. He must not give them the satisfaction of an argument; he is to leave them alone. Paul means the teachers of these things, not those they might mislead — for the sheep need protection.

The truth is that God, not gain, is the goal of godliness. Yet the Apostle strikingly adds, "godliness with contentment is great gain." To walk as in the presence of the living God, trusting His goodness with a contented heart, is very great gain of a spiritual kind.

Piety is confidence in the living God we know. That confidence leads the believer to walk in the holy fear of God through every circumstance of life. It recognises and honours God. So it is the very opposite of a show of holiness that seeks to exalt self.

Now godliness means being conscious of God. It means living under the eye of God. It means having God as the trust and the glory of our hearts. Godliness like that, with the contentment that flows from it, is great gain.

Contentment on its own is not enough. By itself it would be no more than a heathen idea. In fact, plenty of pagan writers put it beautifully. But we may fear this was more what they could see a man ought to be than what they actually lived out day by day. The Stoics, who used such language most, were hard men rather than happy ones.

Contentment alone could not be this great gain, for it would then be something the flesh glories in. Godliness must come first, and be the root cause of contentment. Paul was himself a true example of this.

Earthly possessions are like that polished knife. If someone else has them, it is so they may be used for the glory of God. If God puts them beyond your reach, it is because they would hurt you if you had them. So let your heart be happy and contented. God is your Father, and He knows what is best for you. "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?"

Wealth has its snares, as the Apostle shows a little later. But owning wealth does not necessarily ruin the soul. What ruins it is the "desire to be rich," and this word "desire" carries the idea of purpose. The danger is that the believer, instead of being content to earn his living, may set himself with purpose of heart to be rich. So riches become an object instead of the Lord.

I have to ask myself — and this time we cannot dodge these practical questions — am I going to be content to accept what God allots me as coming from His hand? Am I willing not to make it my great aim to become something other than I am, or to reach higher or greater things than I have? If so, that is great gain.

Everyone knows that this often-quoted statement of the Apostle Paul to Timothy is a fact of life: "we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world." No special revelation is needed to grasp it. When we are born, we bring no possessions of any kind with us. We come to this earth naked. The same goes for the end of life here: no one can take a single penny with him or her for what lies beyond. Even so, we often live and act as if our possessions had been ours for hundreds of years. We act as if our life, our success and our happiness depended on our wealth. How short-sighted we often are!

He shows this and drives it home with the plain facts of how a person's life begins and ends here below. All can see those facts, but only people of faith act on them. Paul puts it so briefly and bluntly that we need not wonder if words added to explain him later crept into many manuscripts. The oldest authorities turn our entrance into the world with nothing into a solemn reminder that it will be the same at the close. So the two-fold truth bears on the believer all the way through his course. Compare Job 1:21, a saying voiced long ago, and as simple as it is sure. But only piety joined with "contentment" makes its weight felt and shapes a walk that matches the truth.

Not a murmur escapes his lips at the loss of his property… He admits that nothing was his by right. He had come into the world naked, and would leave it as he came. But he turns from the stroke to the Hand that gave it. He looks past all second causes, whether human or miraculous, and lays his sorrow at the Lord's feet. "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

The things we have to deal with now are not our own things at all. They belong to another, even God. Our own things are on high, not here. Of possessions in this world, however valuable, however extensive, we are but life-renters. They are not our own. This casts a new light on all that people by nature seek to gain down here. And the future possession, which we so easily treat as vague and unreal, turns out to be solid and substantial.

Even true Christians may be hindered from laying hold on eternal life by the desire for present things. The pursuit of present possessions is very effective at preventing the enjoyment of the life that we have in Christ. That is why the apostle says, "we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world." This being so, is it not foolish for a Christian to pile up wealth in this world?

We entered the world with nothing; we go out with nothing. God may indeed give us much to enjoy. Even so, we should be content with just the necessaries of life — food and clothing. This sets a high standard before us, and few of us come up to it, though the Apostle himself did.

The words translated food and covering are both plural. That may point to the variety God provides in each case. The "covering" is also not limited to clothing, and should not be translated that way, since it takes in a dwelling as well. The future tense seems stronger here than a command, and it suits the passive voice better.

We have to recognise that we are only life tenants of all we have. We entered the world with nothing; we go out with nothing. God may indeed give us much for our enjoyment. But on the other hand we should be content with just the necessities of life — food and clothing. This sets a high standard before us, one that few of us come up to, though the apostle himself did.

Having food and covering — and the slave had these things — let us be content with that.

The Lord said what a stranger was to expect. Through Paul, the Holy Spirit says what a saint should expect. The two are the same. Deuteronomy 10:18; 1 Timothy 6:8.

In 1 Timothy 6:9 we read: "Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." This is God's moral grouping. This is what His mind ties to the commonest of all desires — the desire to be rich. And His path of escape is this: "But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content."

When a saint truly enjoys Christ, a thousand little things quietly drop away: having food and clothing, he is content with that. If my spirit is always occupied with the Lord as my portion, I shall be satisfied.

Earthly possessions are like that polished knife. If someone else has them, it is so they may use them for the glory of God. If they are kept beyond your reach, it is because they would hurt you if you had them. Let your heart be happy and contented then, for God, who is your Father, knows what is best for you.

There is nothing wrong in having this or that. The point is that the servant of God wants to be as free as possible to serve his Master as well as he can… It has been well said: "If our business or our possessions are our object, we make them as large as we can. If they are our burden, which we have to carry, we make them as small as we can."

In contrast with godly contentment there is the restlessness of those who desire to be rich. Wealth has its snares, as the Apostle shows a little later. But what ruins the soul is not necessarily the possession of wealth; it is the "desire to be rich." Others have pointed out that this word "desire" includes the idea of purpose. The danger is this. Instead of being content to earn his living, the believer may set himself with "purpose" of heart to be rich. So riches become the object, instead of the Lord.

Do you want to be rich? You will fall into a pit. This is the point. It is not that there is any harm in money, but in the love of it.

What does such a desire betray? Discontent with the calling God has given; distrust of His will, goodness, and wisdom in the way He deals with each of us… Child of God, where is your treasure? Is it Christ in heaven? If so, you are happy! If it is wealth or distinction, the Lord warns, There also will be your heart. Many hold a fond notion that flatly contradicts Christ: that while the life is swallowed up in the struggle for riches, the heart is not there at all but stays true to Him. What could be more false, or more deceiving!

To fall into temptation is quite different from being tempted. Being tempted is hard; but blessed is the one who endures temptation… Christ suffered while He was tempted. He did not give in to the pleasure of the moment and then lie down afterwards in useless sorrow.

"A snare" goes further still than temptation. It pictures the deceived soul caught in the enemy's net, and only the grace and power of the Lord can free him.

Further, the desire for riches does not come alone. It is the parent of "many senseless and harmful desires." It feeds vanity. It breeds pride. It serves selfishness. It suggests and promotes ambition, and so may be the means of corrupting others.

The way is sad and evil, and the end is wretched beyond words… Of course this describes "men," not "saints." But some of the most terrible examples are people who once took that place, and were perhaps recognized without question among those who confessed Christ… "Destruction" is the general word for their ruin; "perdition" is sharper and more dreadful still. Part of the snare and folly is to lean on the Lord's name, as if wearing it must shield a person from the harm that unbelief brings — the unbelief that treats His word lightly and lets self-will run loose.

This is the association God makes — what in His mind is bound up with the commonest of all desires, the desire to be rich! And His path of escape is this: having food and clothing, let us be content with that.

The love of money is declared to be the root of every kind of evil. It is not that every bit of evil in the world comes from the love of money. Rather, the love of money is a root, and on various occasions every kind of evil springs from it.

The language of men betrays their mammon-worship. They think of money, and the love of it, as a root of "goods." God calls it a root of "evils." And not just possible evils but real ones — the evils that exist, subtle or important, of the flesh and of the mind. So the Lord had warned the disciples about the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things creeping in.

Philarguria (from philos and arguros) literally means "love of money." It is the miser's sin, and a person may indulge it while professing religion. So Luke 16:14 applies the word to the Pharisees, and 2 Timothy 3:2 applies it to people who had a form of godliness but denied its power. This love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Those who go after it are liable to wander away from the faith, and to pierce themselves through with many sorrows.

The love of money is such a deadly root of evils that its seductive pull away from the faith stands first among the dangers that follow. This may help to explain the strong language of Ephesians 5:5, where Scripture calls a covetous person an idolater, and of Colossians 3:5, which declares covetousness to be idolatry. Granted, the word used there goes beyond the love of money spoken of here. Still, the love of money is at least part of that unsatisfied greed, which becomes an absorbing idolatrous passion that shuts out true homage to the true God.

The eager pursuit of money tends to pierce those devoted to it through with many pangs. In that case it is hard to avoid deceit here and pretence there, hard words and ways to one person and soft ones to another. It is hard to avoid taking selfish advantage of people and things and times, with no thought of heart or circumstances, and still less of Christ before God. Success inflicts the many pangs as well as failure. In fact the most successful have their disappointments as a rule, and all the sharper ones.

The covetousness of Achan, the desire to enrich himself with the spoil of Jericho, not only brought destruction on himself, but humiliation and trouble on Israel. The love of money led Judas to betray the Son of God, and brought Balaam to the King of Moab to advise him how to overcome God's people.

On riches, two classes appear: those who are not rich but wish to be (verses 9–12), and those who are rich already (verses 17–19)… Money is not evil in itself. But the love of it is a root from which every evil may spring. The Apostle had seen some people whose covetousness led them away from the faith. They pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Anyone who would be a man of God must flee these things. He must follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness. And there is great need of such men.