“If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed. But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths.”
Paul finished telling Timothy about what the false teachers were teaching in verses one through five. Now, he tells Timothy that he will be a good servant if he points these things out to the brothers and sisters in the church at Ephesus. Let’s look back to refresh our memory. Paul warned that these false teachers were forbidding marriage and demanding abstinence from certain foods. Paul reminded Timothy that nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer (vv. 4-5).
Paul uses the word ‘diakonos’ here, which my CSB translates to ‘servant.’ It is the same word that is used in 1 Timothy 3:8 for deacon. It can also be translated as ‘minister,’ and some versions such as the NIV, translate verse 6 “…you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ…” While we may think of the formal title of minister, as in the minister of a church, it simply means one who serves.
Paul goes on to tell Timothy how he will be a good servant, or minister, of Christ. He gives two positive things he must do and one negative thing he must avoid. We will start with what he must do.
Paul uses the analogy of the Bible (words of the faith) being nourishment for Timothy. The Psalmist writes, “How sweet your word is to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth” (119:103). When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan to turn stones into bread, “He answered, ‘It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). And one more example of God’s Word being nourishment can be found in 1 Peter 2:2-3. “Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
In the same way, the Word of God should nourish us. Without it, we grow weak in our faith, and false teachers can easily creep in and lead us astray. It is when we are firmly rooted and established in God’s Word that we are not swayed by false teachings. “How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers (Psalm 1:1-3).
Next, Paul says Timothy should be nourished by the good teaching he has followed. Later, in his second letter, he commends Timothy for following his teaching (2 Timothy 3:10). And he is going to encourage Timothy to teach others what he has learned. But this will only be possible if he has first nourished himself in God’s Word.
What can we learn from this? We need to learn from good teachers. It is so important to be part of a good Bible-believing church where the pastor teaches from the Word. Paul writes about this in his letter to Ephesians. “And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part” (Ephesians 4:11-16). I gave a large section of that letter because it is so important to see how this all fits together. We are a body of believers. When everything is working as it should, and everyone is operating in their gifting, the church is built up and grows in maturity, both the individual members and together as a body. And with that growth, we will recognize false teaching and be able to refute it.
Now for the negative thing that Timothy must avoid. Paul writes, “But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths.” I think that this must have been a problem at the church in Ephesus because this is the second time he has written a similar warning. “As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach false doctrine or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith” (1:3-4). And it didn’t stop because Paul had to write two more warnings in his second letter. “Avoid irreverent and empty speech, since those who engage in it will produce even more godlessness, and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them” (2:16-17). “But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, because you know that they breed quarrels” (2:23). It wasn’t just Ephesus. Paul wrote to Titus on the island of Crete, “This testimony is true. For this reason, rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of people who reject the truth” (Titus 1:13-14).
There are many pointless and silly myths that are still around today. Some may be like the ones in Paul and Timothy’s time, and some may be different. But the warning is the same. We are to have nothing to do with them! John Stonestreet, the president of the Colson center, uses this helpful framework. Do the math- add, subtract, multiply, divide.
Addition: does this add to the Word of God? Legitimate biblical teaching does not add extra revelations or sacred texts to the Scripture.
Subtraction: does it subtract from the deity or sovereignty of Christ? Any belief that diminishes the full deity and authority of Jesus is heretical.
Multiplication: does it multiply the requirements for salvation or acceptance by God? Salvation is a free gift received by grace through faith, not a result of human effort or works.
Division: does it wrongly divide the body of Christ? Legitimate teachings unite believers while false doctrines create unnecessary divisions in the church.
There are many groups that call themselves Christian that add, subtract, multiply, or divide. If the teachings of the group do not agree with the historic Christian faith (see my last blog post for the foundational beliefs of Christianity), then it is not truly Christian. If you are not sure if your church falls into the heretical category, or is starting to get off track, go through the questions above. A solid church will answer no to each of the questions above and will affirm the truths of the Apostles’ Creed.
Grace be with you!
Abundant Joy 