1 Timothy 4 Devotional

Training Grounded in Hope

“To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.”1 Timothy 4:10 (BSB)

1 Timothy 4 warns of teachers who will forbid marriage and demand abstinence from certain foods (4:1-3). Their rules look strict and spiritual, but Paul calls them a departure from the faith. God made these things good, he says, and when they are received with thanks and set apart by God's word and prayer, they are not to be refused (4:4-5). Godliness does not mean despising God's gifts. It means receiving them gratefully from his hand.

Paul does call Timothy to discipline, but of a different kind. Timothy is to work at godliness the way an athlete trains, because bodily training helps a little, while godliness pays off in every area, now and in the life to come (4:7-8). That training rests on hope set on the living God (4:10). Though young, he can set an example in how he speaks, lives, loves, trusts, and keeps himself pure (4:12). Spiritual growth is not a reach for God's approval. It grows from hope already placed in him.

To think about: What small daily habit could train you in godliness, practiced out of hope in God rather than to earn his approval?