A Good Servant of Christ Jesus

“If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:6-10 ESV)

What things was Timothy to put before the Christians? I am assuming it includes everything Paul wrote to him from the beginning of this letter up to the present discussion. And in chapter one he instructed him to charge certain persons not to teach a different doctrine. And he was to wage the good warfare of faith, holding to that faith and to a good conscience. And in chapter two he was encouraged that prayers be made for all people, and that the Christians should conduct themselves in godliness and propriety.

Then in chapter three he spoke to him about the biblical and spiritual qualifications for those who aspire to the office of overseer and to those who were to become deacons. For they were to be men above reproach, faithful to their wives, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, able to teach, not drunkards, not violent, not lovers of money, not greedy, not dishonest, and having clear consciences, etc. Wow! Imagine how the church would change today if all its leaders literally met these qualifications? Revival!!

And in chapter 4, which is where we are now, Paul told him of the things that he should expect in these last days before the return of Christ. Many will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits. And this is where we are presently, in reality, that so many have wandered off to follow after the lies of men in their deceitful scheming who are telling people what their itching ears want to hear, but which are lies which will send them to hell on the promise of heaven if they follow the lies and not the truth.

So all of us who follow Jesus Christ with our lives, in reality, are to be those who proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. And we are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth in preserving and in preaching the truth of the gospel of our salvation. And we are to be making disciples of Christ of people of all nations, and we are to be exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness for what they are and warning the people not to be deceived but to test everything they hear.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Eph 5:11-14; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 John 2:6]

We are all to be servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, committed to his service and to obeying his teachings. All of us who are of true faith in Jesus Christ have received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and we have all been gifted of the Spirit in various ways which we are to be using for the encouragement and the strengthening and maturing of the body of Christ in our walks of faith and in obedience to our Lord. For God has assigned each one of us our body parts which we are to fulfill within the body, in the power of God.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

So all of us are to be good servants of Jesus Christ, trained in the words of the faith (the gospel) and of the good doctrine (taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles, in context) which all of us should be following in practice. And not one of us should have anything to do with false gospels and false doctrines of the faith which are contrary to the teachings of Christ and of his NT apostles. And so we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in context so that we are well versed in the doctrines of the faith.

And all of us should be training ourselves in godliness, of the Spirit, by the Spirit, for the glory of God. So all of us who profess the name of Jesus should be those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So sin should no longer be what we practice, but now righteousness and godliness and walks of obedience to our Lord should be our daily practice.

For godliness holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. Do we know what that is teaching? How we live matters for eternity. If we walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, and in sin, and not in holiness and righteousness, and not in walks of surrender to our Lord and in obedience to his commands, we do not know God, we are not born of God, we are not in fellowship with God, and we do not have eternal life with God regardless of what faith in Jesus we may profess with our lips.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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