1 Timothy 6
6
1All who are forced to serve as slaves should consider their masters worthy of full respect. Then people will not speak evil things against God’s name and against what we teach. 2Some slaves have masters who are believers. They shouldn’t show their masters disrespect just because they are also believers. Instead, they should serve them even better. That’s because their masters are loved by them as believers. These masters are committed to caring for their slaves.
People Who Teach Lies or Love Money
These are the things you are to teach. Try hard to get the believers to do them. 3Suppose someone teaches something different than I have taught. Suppose that person doesn’t agree with the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Suppose they don’t agree with godly teaching. 4Then that person is proud and doesn’t understand anything. They like to argue more than they should. They can’t agree about what words mean. All of this results in wanting what others have. It causes fighting, harmful talk, and evil distrust. 5It stirs up trouble all the time among people whose minds are twisted by sin. The truth they once had has been taken away from them. They think they can get rich by being godly.
6You gain a lot when you live a godly life. But you must be happy with what you have. 7We didn’t bring anything into the world. We can’t take anything out of it. 8If we have food and clothing, we will be happy with that. 9People who want to get rich are tempted. They fall into a trap. They are tripped up by wanting many foolish and harmful things. Those who live like that are dragged down by what they do. They are destroyed and die. 10Love for money causes all kinds of evil. Some people want to get rich. They have wandered away from the faith. They have wounded themselves with many sorrows.
Paul Gives a Final Command to Timothy
11But you are a man of God. Run away from all these things. Try hard to do what is right and godly. Have faith, love and gentleness. Hold on to what you believe. 12Fight the good fight along with all other believers. Take hold of eternal life. You were chosen for it when you openly told others what you believe. Many witnesses heard you. 13God gives life to everything. Christ Jesus told the truth when he was a witness in front of Pontius Pilate. In the sight of God and Christ, I give you a command. 14Obey it until our Lord Jesus Christ appears. Obey it completely. Then no one can find fault with it or you. 15God will bring Jesus back at a time that pleases him. God is the blessed and only Ruler. He is the greatest King of all. He is the most powerful Lord of all. 16God is the only one who can’t die. He lives in light that no one can get close to. No one has seen him. No one can see him. Honor and power belong to him forever. Amen.
17Command people who are rich in this world not to be proud. Tell them not to put their hope in riches. Wealth is so uncertain. Command those who are rich to put their hope in God. He richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18Command the rich to do what is good. Tell them to be rich in doing good things. They must give freely. They must be willing to share. 19In this way, they will store up true riches for themselves. It will provide a firm basis for the next life. Then they will take hold of the life that really is life.
20Timothy, guard what God has trusted you with. Turn away from godless chatter. Stay away from opposing ideas that are falsely called knowledge. 21Some people believe them. By doing that they have turned away from the faith.
May God’s grace be with you all.
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1 Timothy 6: NIrV
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1 Timothy 6
6
Rules for Slaves. 1#Compare the tables for household duties, such as that of Col 3:18–4:1. Domestic relationships derive new meaning from the Christian faith. Those who are under the yoke of slavery must regard their masters as worthy of full respect, so that the name of God and our teaching#Our teaching: this refers to the teaching of the Christian community. may not suffer abuse.#Eph 6:5; Ti 2:9–10. 2Those whose masters are believers must not take advantage of them because they are brothers but must give better service because those who will profit from their work are believers and are beloved.#Phlm 16.
V. FALSE TEACHING AND TRUE WEALTH
Teach and urge these things.#6:2b–10] Timothy is exhorted to maintain steadfastly the position outlined in this letter, not allowing himself to be pressured into any other course. He must realize that false teachers can be discerned by their pride, envy, quarrelsomeness, and greed for material gain. 1 Tm 6:6 is rather obscure and is interpreted, and therefore translated, variously. The suggestion seems to be that the important gain that religion brings is spiritual, but that there is material gain, too, up to the point of what is needed for physical sustenance (cf. 1 Tm 6:17–19). 3Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching#Gal 1:6–9; 2 Tm 1:13; Ti 1:1. 4is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, 5and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth, supposing religion to be a means of gain.#2 Tm 3:8; 4:4; Ti 1:14. 6#Contentment: the word autarkeia is a technical Greek philosophical term for the virtue of independence from material goods (Aristotle, Cynics, Stoics). Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain.#4:8; Phil 4:11–12; Heb 13:5. 7For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it.#Jb 1:21; Eccl 5:14. 8If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that.#Prv 30:8. 9Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction.#Prv 23:4; 28:22. 10For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.
Exhortations to Timothy.#Timothy’s position demands total dedication to God and faultless witness to Christ (1 Tm 6:11–14) operating from an awareness, through faith, of the coming revelation in Jesus of the invisible God (1 Tm 6:15–16). 11But you, man of God,#Man of God: a title applied to Moses and the prophets (Dt 33:1; 1 Sm 2:27; 1 Kgs 12:22; 13:1; etc.). avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.#2 Tm 2:22. 12Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.#1 Cor 9:26; 2 Tm 4:7. 13I charge [you] before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession,#Jn 18:36–37; 19:11. 14to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ 15that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time, the King of kings and Lord of lords,#2 Mc 13:4; Rev 17:14. 16who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.#Ex 33:20; Ps 104:2.
Right Use of Wealth.#Timothy is directed to instruct the rich, advising them to make good use of their wealth by aiding the poor. 17Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment.#Ps 62:11; Lk 12:20. 18Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, 19thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life.#Mt 6:20.
VI. FINAL RECOMMENDATION AND WARNING#A final solemn warning against the heretical teachers, with what seems to be a specific reference to gnosticism, the great rival and enemy of the church for two centuries and more (the Greek word for “knowledge” is gnōsis). If gnosticism is being referred to here, it is probable that the warnings against “speculations” and “myths and genealogies” (cf. especially 1 Tm 1:4; Ti 3:9) involve allusions to that same kind of heresy. Characteristic of the various gnostic systems of speculation was an elaborate mythology of innumerable superhuman intermediaries, on a descending scale (“genealogies”), between God and the world. Thus would be explained the emphasis upon Christ’s being the one mediator (as in 1 Tm 2:5). Although fully developed gnosticism belonged to the second and later centuries, there are signs that incipient forms of it belonged to Paul’s own period.
20O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid profane babbling and the absurdities of so-called knowledge.#2 Tm 1:14 / 1 Tm 4:7. 21By professing it, some people have deviated from the faith.
Grace be with all of you.#1:6; 2 Tm 2:18.
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