1 Timothy 4:11-16 - Command and teach these things!

4:11,12

“Command and teach”. we have a habit of only doing one of these two things. Just to tell people what to do without giving any understanding or explanation generally does not work, and can be dictatorial. Teaching as if something is just an option is unbiblical, and is part of the reason we get the “do not judge” nonsense that is so prevalent today.

Timothy must have been relatively young. By the way, this shows that the earlier instructions that leaders were not to be young converts refers to recent converts. Timothy had “served his time” with Paul, he had proved his commitment and reliability. As leaders we are to be examples, and are to lead with the right sort of confidence. ie not arrogant or boastful, but knowing who we are in Christ and living a Christlike life.  we are to be examples in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. This is some task! It involves inward and outward aspects of our lives.

4:13,14

Paul was intending to return to Ephesus. In the meantime Timothy was to devote himself to public reading of Scripture, preaching and teaching. There is a tendency to denigrate these things in the church today in favour of more “modern” means of communication. We do this at our peril and at our loss. Timothy had a gift. We are not told what it was, quite possibly it was related to teaching and preaching. We are to nurture and use the gifts that God gives to us. This gift was given to Timothy through prophecy when the elders laid hands on him. So we see the charismatic and the formal working together here. By the way, this is another argument why the teaching that the gifts were just for the early church has no Scriptural foundation whatsoever. We still need people with gifts of teaching and preaching, evangelising etc. This does not mean that the gift is always given via prophecy, but prophecy should be an important part of the life of the church.

4:15,16

Timothy had to be diligent. Gifts and tasks are given to us to use carefully. We cannot be half-hearted. Also everyone should see our progress. We should all be growing in the faith, in our understanding of it and in our practise of it. If we are involved in teaching and preaching then the quality of our teaching and preaching should improve over the years. We are to watch our life and doctrine. It is easy to be taken in by false teachings, or to drift slowly away from the truth. Bad habits can creep into our lives. We need to watch our lives and take action. This is both for our benefit and for the benefit of those whom we serve.