Spiritual Athletics: The Godly Grind Text: 1 Timothy 4:6-16
Introduction: Fit for Combat
The modern evangelical church has a peculiar obsession with fitness. We have fitness programs, diet books written by Christian authors, and pastors who are very proud of their marathon times or their CrossFit scores. And while there is nothing inherently wrong with taking care of the temple of the Holy Spirit, there is a great danger of majoring in the minors. We have become experts in bodily training while remaining spiritual weaklings. We have traded the gymnasium of godliness for a sanctified health club.
Paul's letter to his young apprentice Timothy is a manual for spiritual combat. The church at Ephesus was under siege, not by Roman legions, but by something far more dangerous: bad ideas, demonic doctrines, and the seductive whispers of ascetic Gnosticism. In the previous verses, Paul warned of those who would forbid marriage and demand abstinence from certain foods, doctrines of demons peddled by hypocritical liars. These are the godless myths Paul is referring to. In response to this, Paul does not tell Timothy to start a new program, create a more attractive brand, or survey the felt needs of the congregation. He tells him to get into the gym. He commands him to train, to labor, to strive, to pay close attention, to be absorbed in the discipline of godliness.
This passage is a divine training manual for the minister of the gospel, and by extension, for every serious Christian. The ministry is not a place for the spiritually flabby. It is not a weekend hobby. It is a high-stakes, all-consuming calling that demands rigorous, constant, and intentional spiritual athletics. If a minister is not sweating in the gym of personal godliness, he has no business coaching others from the pulpit. He is a danger to himself and to all who hear him.
The Text
In pointing out these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But refuse godless myths fit only for old women. On the other hand, train yourself for the purpose of godliness, for bodily training is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy saying and deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
Command and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but show yourself as a model to those who believe in word, conduct, love, faith, and purity. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the gift within you, which was given to you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
(1 Timothy 4:6-16 LSB)
The Minister's Diet and Discipline (vv. 6-8)
Paul begins with the foundation of all effective ministry: the minister's own spiritual nourishment.
"In pointing out these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following." (1 Timothy 4:6)
A good servant, a good deacon in the original sense, is one who is first a good student. You cannot serve what you have not first consumed. The image here is one of constant feeding. A minister is not someone who crammed for a theology exam once and is now coasting on that knowledge. He is being continually nourished, marinating in the words of the faith and sound doctrine. This is not about having quiet times with inspirational thoughts; it is about a steady diet of robust, biblical, systematic truth. You are what you eat, and a minister fed on theological junk food will produce a spiritually malnourished church.
Next, Paul gives a negative and a positive command regarding training.
"But refuse godless myths fit only for old women. On the other hand, train yourself for the purpose of godliness..." (1 Timothy 4:7)
He must first reject the bad spiritual food. "Godless myths fit only for old women" is not a slight against elderly ladies. It is apostolic shorthand for the kind of superstitious, silly, and unserious tales that circulate in the absence of robust teaching. In our day, this is the therapeutic deism, the political utopianism, the sentimental drivel, and the self-help moralism that clogs up Christian bookstores and podcasts. A good minister must have a well-developed gag reflex for this kind of nonsense. He must refuse it.
The positive command is to "train yourself." The Greek word is gymnazo, from which we get gymnasium. This is a call to spiritual athletics. Godliness is not a state of passive reception; it is an active, strenuous, and disciplined pursuit. It requires sweat. It requires pushing past your comfort zone. It is the hard work of prayer, confession, study, and obedience when you do not feel like it.
Paul then provides the rationale for this training:
"...for bodily training is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8)
Notice, Paul does not say bodily training is of no profit. It has some, limited, temporary benefit. But in the grand scheme, it is a pittance. Godliness, on the other hand, is the ultimate investment. It is profitable for "all things." It pays dividends in your marriage, your work, your finances, your friendships, your internal peace, right now, in this life. And its returns are eternal, holding promise for the life to come. To spend three hours a day in the gym and three minutes a day in the Word is the height of foolishness. It is to invest your life savings in a depreciating asset while ignoring a treasure of infinite worth.
The Minister's Hope and Motivation (vv. 9-10)
Why should we undertake this difficult labor? Paul grounds the entire enterprise in the character and work of God.
"It is a trustworthy saying and deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers." (1 Timothy 4:9-10)
This truth about the supreme value of godliness is not a matter for debate; it is a "trustworthy saying." This is bedrock reality. And because it is true, we "labor and strive." These are words of intense effort. We work to the point of exhaustion, we contend as in an athletic contest. This is not a picture of quiet contemplation, but of spiritual warfare and hard grind. The motivation is not self-improvement. The motivation is hope, and that hope is fixed on "the living God." Our God is not a stoic principle or a distant deity. He is alive, active, and engaged in His world.
Then we have that phrase that has caused so much confusion: "who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers." This is not, as the universalists would have it, a declaration that everyone will be saved in the end. The word "especially" creates a distinction, not an equivalence. God is the Savior of all men in a general sense. He is their preserver. He provides common grace, holding back the chaos of sin, giving rain, sun, breath, and life to all His creatures, elect and reprobate alike (Matthew 5:45). In this sense, He is the Savior or preserver of all mankind. But He is the Savior of believers "especially," that is, in a particular, redemptive, and eternal way. He is the preserver of all, but the Redeemer of His people. Our striving is fueled by our hope in this specific, saving God.
The Minister's Public Example (vv. 11-13)
This personal discipline must translate into a public ministry marked by authority and integrity.
"Command and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but show yourself as a model to those who believe in word, conduct, love, faith, and purity." (1 Timothy 4:11-12)
The minister is not to present these truths as helpful suggestions. He is to "command and teach." His authority is derivative, flowing from the Word of God, but it is real authority nonetheless. The antidote to being despised for his youth is not to act older or to demand respect, but to be a living example, a "model" or type (tupos). His life must be the sermon illustration. Paul lists five areas: his speech must be wholesome, his conduct above reproach, his love for the brethren genuine, his faith or faithfulness unwavering, and his moral and sexual purity unquestionable. A young man who lives this way has a gravity that age alone cannot supply.
The central tasks of his public ministry are then laid out:
"Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching." (1 Timothy 4:13)
This is the engine room of the church. Not clever programs. Not entertainment. Not a rock show. The public reading of God's Word. The exhortation, which is the application and pressing of that Word upon the conscience. And the teaching, which is the explanation of that Word. This is the ordinary, non-negotiable, central business of the corporate gathering of God's people.
The Minister's Personal Watchfulness (vv. 14-16)
Paul concludes by turning the focus back to Timothy's own soul. Public ministry flows from private reality.
"Do not neglect the gift within you... Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all." (1 Timothy 4:14-15)
Timothy was gifted and ordained by God, confirmed by the elders. This gift was not for decoration. It was a tool to be used, and neglecting it was a sin. He is to "take pains" with his duties, to be "absorbed in them." Ministry is not a slice of his life; it is his life. The goal is visible progress. A congregation should be able to see their pastor growing in grace, knowledge, and wisdom. A static minister leads a stagnant church.
The final verse is a solemn, weighty charge that summarizes everything:
"Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you." (1 Timothy 4:16)
Here are the two rails of a faithful ministry: life and doctrine. "Yourself and your teaching." Orthodoxy and orthopraxy. They must run parallel. A man with impeccable doctrine but a secret life of sin is a fraud who will destroy the flock. A man who is personally pious but teaches heresy is a blind guide leading people into a ditch. The minister must be vigilant over both, constantly. And he must persevere. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
The stakes could not be higher. In doing this, he will "save both yourself and those who hear you." This does not mean the minister is the savior. Christ alone is the Savior. But the minister is the instrument God uses. He is the delivery man. By faithfully persevering in a godly life and sound teaching, he is the means by which God's saving grace is applied to himself and to his people. This is a terrifying and glorious responsibility. To be careless with your life or your doctrine is to be an accomplice to damnation.
Conclusion: The Profitable Grind
This passage is a bucket of cold water for a church that has grown comfortable, consumeristic, and spiritually soft. The Christian life, and especially the Christian ministry, is a grind. It is a glorious grind, a hopeful grind, a Spirit-empowered grind, but it is a grind nonetheless. It requires discipline, sweat, and perseverance.
We are called to reject the godless myths of our age, whether they come from the secular world or from the Christian subculture. We are called to get into the gymnasium of godliness and to train. We are to be nourished on the strong meat of sound doctrine, not the sugary snacks of pop-spirituality. We are to fix our hope on the living God and labor for His kingdom.
This is not just for pastors. Every father is the pastor of his home. Every mature believer is called to be an example. We must all pay close attention to our lives and our doctrine. We must be absorbed in these things, so that our progress is evident to a watching world. For this is the path of true profit, the way of life, and the means by which God is pleased to save us and make us instruments of salvation for others.