Run Day 14 Intimacy With The Unseen: Digging Deeper
March 20, 2025
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
1 Timothy 6:3-20
11 But you, man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all, and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate, I charge you 14 to keep this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 God will bring this about in his own time. He is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see, to him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, 19 storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding irreverent and empty speech and contradictions from what is falsely called knowledge.
The Original Intent
1) How can godliness with contentment be great gain? (verses 5-8)
Paul wrote, “godliness with contentment is great gain” as a rebuttal to those who taught godliness was a means of gaining material wealth or status as was made common by the religious elite group of Pharisees. Instead of endeavoring to obtain more, Paul encouraged being content with having our needs met, remembering they come graciously from the Lord. (1 Timothy 6:5-8)
What made contentment such a game-changer?
William Barclay explains, “The word here used for contentment is autarkeia… a complete self-sufficiency. They meant a frame of mind which was completely independent of all outward things, and which carried the secret of happiness within itself. Contentment never comes from the possession of external things.”
Paul understood that having more stuff was not the focus of the Christian life. He knew that only relying on God, our Provider (Genesis 22:14), would bring lasting contentment while looking to the material things of this world would never satisfy and only produce a longing for more that could never be appeased. (Ecclesiastes 5:10) David Guzik suggests, “We can only find contentment when our hearts are rooted in eternal things; and contentment is essential because it shows we are living with an eternal perspective, not only trying to feather an earthly nest.”
When we are content with God’s provision, we obey God’s Word (Hebrews 13:5) and bring Him glory by declaring that God is enough (Philippians 4:19) and even more than enough (2 Corinthians 9:8). Meghan Ryan explains, “Contentment means living in God’s fullness. Which means contentment is possible because it’s independent of our circumstances. That doesn’t mean we won’t still have desires. You can be content in Christ and still desire for something to be different.”
Paul urges believers to rely on God, not money or possessions, regardless of our circumstances. Paul assures us we can be truly content in the hands of our loving God! (John 10:29)
The Everyday Application
1) How can godliness with contentment be great gain? (verses 5-8)
Until recently social media did not exist, and now millions of people make their living as social media influencers. I recently walked into someone’s laundry room with a Gen Z friend who pointed to a mop in the corner and said, “Oh, she has that mop from TikTok.”
I myself have succumbed to purchasing items in popular online posts, everything from backpacks to bug zappers. There is a constant bombardment of suggestions for things I need to improve my quality of life, making it hard to be content with last season’s gizmos and gadgets.
While the apostle Paul was not on Tik Tok, he definitely understood the appeal of worldly possessions, which is why he wrote, “godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.” Paul knew it’s easy to become dissatisfied and focus on accumulating things rather than appreciating God’s provision. Paul understood that contentment with God’s provision has nothing to do with circumstances and everything to do with trusting His grace and strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)
As Elisabeth Elliott asserts, “The secret is Christ in me not me in a different set of circumstances.” Paul knew that hyper-focusing on wealth can create an obsession with worldly things. Christine Caine suggests, “If you do not have a content heart you will always want more. . . You’re on an endless treadmill of more. You end up stuck in a comparison trap and comparison is the enemy of contentment.”
Instead of scrolling our way into discontentment, let’s focus on the great gain we have in being content with God’s plans and purposes in our lives. (Psalm 23:1)
The Original Intent
2) How is the love of money a root of all kinds of evil? (verses 9-10)
Paul‘s statement to Timothy, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (verse 10), has been often misquoted as “money is the root of all evil.” Money itself is just a benign tool God allows us to use and steward for His glory. When we elevate money above the Lord we open ourselves to evil.
Replacing the worship of God with avarice and allowing our lives to be motivated by greed and selfishness can lead to all manner of evil activity. J.C. Ryle notes, “Thousands who would abhor the idea of worshiping idols, are not ashamed to make an idol of gold. . . It is an evil that works very deceitfully. It carries us captives before we are aware of our chains.” Paul’s admonition was not to avoid money, but rather to guard our hearts from craving it and taking our focus off of God.
Paul understood that the life God has for believers is not about how much stuff they can accumulate (Luke 12:15) but about following God’s heart and doing the good works He has laid out for us (Ephesians 2:10)
Elisabeth Elliot asserts, “All God’s gifts are meant to be used not for ourselves but for His Glory. . . all that I am, all that I have, all that I do, and all that I suffer are His. My money is His.” Everything we have comes from God, including our money. (James 1:17) May we always see money as a gift from God, and may we never exalt the gift above the Giver.
The Everyday Application
2) How is the love of money a root of all kinds of evil? (verses 9-10)
I worked for an organization that was attacked by ransomware. Our computer files were encrypted and would not be released until we paid a ransom. We didn’t have the exorbitant sum the attackers demanded, so most of our files were lost. This was a major setback for us; ransomware attacks can be utterly devastating to universities, businesses, and even deadly for institutions like hospitals and care centers. The mercenaries rely on the fear of impending harm to manipulate organizations to pay big money. Their evil pursuit is fueled by greed, and it’s only one of the many devastating schemes motivated by avarice that plague our world today.
The apostle Paul forewarned of this vile danger when he wrote, “Those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10). Paul’s audience wasn’t criminals but Christ-followers.
Paul knew that the love of money could easily seduce well-intentioned believers, and he wanted them to realize they could not serve both money and God. (Matthew 6:24) A.W Tozer cautions, “It is your own spiritual welfare at stake in such matters as these. You have the right to keep what you have all to yourself—but it will rust and decay, and ultimately ruin you.”
By trying to get more for ourselves through selfish means, we end up bringing harm upon ourselves. Lord, help us realize that it doesn’t benefit us to gain worldly wealth while losing our life in the process. (Mark 8:36)
The Original Intent
3) What does Paul mean by “take hold of eternal life”? (verse 12)
Paul admonishes believers to “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (verse 12) Paul urges believers to grasp an intangible thing, so how can Christians follow through on this admonition?
Jennie Lusko explains that “fight in the Greek language . . . is agonizomai, and it means ‘to fight, to contend, to strive as in a contest for a prize.’ We see a tension here between faith, receiving the gift of salvation given by God, and the action of fighting and taking hold of the life we were born to live.” Eternal life is this: knowing the One True God and His Son, Jesus Christ. (John 17:3)
Paul wants Christians to take hold of this gift of salvation through Christ and the blessing of living a life empowered by knowing God. When we live our lives as God prescribes, we come to know God better and can make Him known to others. (Acts 20:24) Ron Teed contends, “We take hold of this eternal life when we live as God commands us to live. . . we experience it when we structure each moment in submission to God’s will and commands.”
Kenneth Wuest concurs by suggesting “There must be an eager, active, intense determination to live a life pleasing to God. We must not only yield to the Holy Spirit’s fullness, trusting Him to produce in us that love that God is, but we must definitely will to be loving and try to be loving.”
Paul wants us to actively cooperate with the work of God in our lives as He makes us more like Jesus! (Romans 8:29)
The Everyday Application
3) What does Paul mean by “take hold of eternal life”? (verse 12)
I remember my college graduation, standing with the university President as she shook my hand and presented my diploma while cameras clicked and flashed. That one piece of paper represented four years of dedication, determination, and academic pursuit. I loved clasping my hands around it and showing it to my family and friends, something tangible that symbolized all my hard work. I could not show them the late-night study sessions, the hours spent pouring over books, or the ideas swirling in my brain, but I could show them the diploma that signified the success of all my endeavors.
Paul used a similar metaphor to symbolize what he wanted believers to do when he wrote, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you have made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (verse 12)
Paul wanted Christians to actively participate in a relationship with God made possible by the gift of eternal life provided by Jesus’ sacrifice. (2 Corinthians 5:15) He wanted them to take hold of it as though it were something tangible, pursuing God by living a life worthy of God each day (1 Thessalonians 2:12) and following His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
We don’t receive a framed paper we can show people to declare that we have received the gift of eternal life. Instead, as Paul encouraged us, we can live our lives as an example of God’s power (Philippians 4:13), grace (1 Corinthians 15:10), and love (John 13:35). In fact, he states that when we live our lives wholly for Christ, we are letters of recommendation to the world around us of the real change that has happened within us by God’s Spirit! (2 Corinthians 3:1-3)
Can We Pray With You?
Prayer is central to our ministry as believers in Jesus as we carry eachother’s burdens and intercede for one another. Our team is honored to share the work of praying alongside you!
This Week's Lock Screen
Authentically living out a life of worship to the God who rescued us from darkness requires accountability and intentionality. Join a GT POD and take the next step in your faith journey!
