1-Timothy - 6:11



11 But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 1-Timothy 6:11.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
But thou, O man of God, fly these things: and pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, patience, mildness.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and pursue righteousness, piety, faith, love, endurance, meekness of spirit.
and thou, O man of God, these things flee, and pursue righteousness, piety, faith, love, endurance, meekness;
But you, O man of God, must flee from these things; and strive for uprightness, godliness, good faith, love, fortitude, and a forgiving temper.
But you, O man of God, keep yourself from these things, and go after righteousness, religion, faith, love, a quiet mind, gentle behaviour.
But you, O man of God, flee from these things, and truly pursue justice, piety, faith, charity, patience, meekness.
But you must, servant of God, avoid all this. Aim at righteousness, piety, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

But thou, O man of God, flee these things By calling him man of God he adds weight to the exhortation. If it be thought proper to limit to the preceding verse the injunction which he gives to follow righteousness, piety, faith, patience, this is an instruction which he gives, by contrast, for correcting avarice, by informing him what kind of riches he ought to desire, namely, spiritual riches. Yet this injunction may also be extended to other clauses, that Timothy, withdrawing himself from all vanity, may avoid that (periepgian) vain curiosity which he condemned a little before; for he who is earnestly employed about necessary employments will easily abstain from those which are superfluous. He names, by way of example, some kinds of virtues, under which we may suppose others to be included. Consequently, every person who shall be devoted to the pursuit of "righteousness," and who shall aim at "piety, faith, charity," and shall follow patience and gentleness, cannot but abhor avarice and its fruits. [1]

Footnotes

1 - "And thus we see that not without reason does Paul add this word piety, which means religion and the fear of God, and that he connects it with faith, saying that, when we have put our confidence in God, and when we expect from him the means of our support, we must also attend to this, not to live in this world as if it were our end, and not to fix our heart upon it, but to look upwards to the heavenly kingdom. Having said this, he next leads us onwards to the love of our fellow-men and to meekness, as we are also bound to walk in all good friendship with our neighbors; otherwise we shall not shew that we have the righteousness which he has mentioned. And thus let us see that, by all these words, he means nothing more than to confirm the exhortation which he had given, to follow righteousness and sincerity. And how shall we follow it? First, by placing our confidence in God; secondly, by raising our thoughts to the heavenly kingdom; and thirdly, by living in good friendship with each other." -- Fr. Ser.

But thou, O man of God, flee these things - These allurements of wealth, and these sad consequences which the love of gold produces.
And follow after righteousness, - Make these the grand object of your pursuit. On the virtues here enumerated, see the notes on Galatians 5:22-23.

But thou, O man of God - Thou, who hast taken God for thy portion, and art seeking a city that hath foundations, whose builder is the living God, flee these things. Escape for thy life. Even thou art not out of the reach of the love of money. How many of the ministers of religion have been ruined by this! And how much has religion itself suffered by their love of money!
Follow after righteousness - Justice and uprightness in all thy dealings with men. Godliness - a thorough conformity to the image of God and mind of Christ. Faith in Jesus, and in all that he has spoken; and fidelity to the talents thou hast received, and the office with which thou art intrusted.
Love - To God and all mankind. Patience in all trials and afflictions.
Meekness - Bearing up with an even mind under all adversities and contradictions.

(9) But thou, O (e) man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
(9) A peculiar exhortation to various virtues, with which it appropriate for the pastors especially to be furnished.
(e) Whom the Spirit of God rules.

But thou, O man of God,.... Not only by creation, as every man is; nor merely by special grace, as everyone is, that is chosen of God, redeemed by Christ, and regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit; but by his peculiar office, as an evangelist and minister of the word, being qualified for, and devoted to, and employed in the service of God. The phrase is taken out of the Old Testament, where the prophets, Elijah and Elisha, are so called, 2-Kings 1:9,
flee these things; the Arabic version reads "these abominations"; namely, all questions and strifes of words, from whence so many evils follow, 1-Timothy 6:4 and all worldly gain, selfish interest, and mercenary views in religion; a wicked resolution to be rich, at any rate, and an immoderate love of the things of the world, and an eager pursuit after them, which expose to great danger, and even utter ruin; things very unbecoming any professor of religion, but much more a minister of the Gospel.
And follow after righteousness; not for justification before God, that he had followed after, and attained unto, which is the righteousness of Christ, and not of the law; but for the honour of religion before men; and intends the doing of justice between man and man, giving everyone their own, which in undue affection for the world sometimes leads men from:
godliness; spiritual religion, holiness of heart, and conversation, which has the promise of this life, as well as of the other, and with contentment is great gain; wherefore to pursue this is much better than greedily to run after the riches of this world, or with the false teachers to suppose that godliness lies in worldly gain, or in securing to a man his worldly interest:
faith; the grace of faith, which looks not to things seen, which are temporal, but to things not seen, which are eternal; and leads off the mind from sublunary enjoyments to God, and Christ, and the glories of another world; and is the leading grace to all others, and the foundation of good works, without which there is no pleasing in acts of moral righteousness, or in any acts of religious worship, which may be called godliness:
love; to God, which is inconsistent with serving mammon, or with an immoderate love of money; and to Christ, which will put a man on seeking, not his own things, but the things of Christ; and to the saints, which will direct him to serve them by acts of beneficence and liberality:
patience; in bearing reproaches and indignities; in suffering injuries, loss of goods, imprisonment, and every sort of persecution, for the sake of the Gospel; which a covetous disposition will not admit of: last of all,
meekness; or humility, not seeking great things, but being content with a lower station of life; for generally it is pride that puts men upon a determination to be rich at any rate: it may also design meekness in instructing the ignorant, in refuting error, and in reproving offenders.

It ill becomes any men, but especially men of God, to set their hearts upon the things of this world; men of God should be taken up with the things of God. There must be a conflict with corruption, and temptations, and the powers of darkness. Eternal life is the crown proposed for our encouragement. We are called to lay hold thereon. To the rich must especially be pointed out their dangers and duties, as to the proper use of wealth. But who can give such a charge, that is not himself above the love of things that wealth can buy? The appearing of Christ is certain, but it is not for us to know the time. Mortal eyes cannot bear the brightness of the Divine glory. None can approach him except as he is made known unto sinners in and by Christ. The Godhead is here adored without distinction of Persons, as all these things are properly spoken, whether of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Ghost. God is revealed to us, only in and through the human nature of Christ, as the only begotten Son of the Father.

But thou--in contrast to the "some" (1-Timothy 6:10).
man of God--who hast God as thy true riches (Genesis 15:1; Psalm 16:5; Lamentations 3:24). Applying primarily to Timothy as a minister (compare 2-Peter 1:21), just as the term was used of Moses (Deuteronomy 33:1), Samuel (1-Samuel 9:6), Elijah, and Elisha; but, as the exhortation is as to duties incumbent also on all Christians, the term applies secondarily to him (so 2-Timothy 3:17) as a Christian man born of God (James 1:18; 1-John 5:1), no longer a man of the world raised above earthly things; therefore, God's property, not his own, bought with a price, and so having parted with all right in himself: Christ's work is to be his great work: he is to be Christ's living representative.
flee these things--namely, "the love of money" with its evil results (1-Timothy 6:9-10).
follow after righteousness-- (2-Timothy 2:22).
godliness--"piety." Righteousness is more in relation to our fellow man; piety ("godliness") to God"; faith is the root of both (see on Titus 2:12).
love--by which "faith worketh."
patience--enduring perseverance amidst trials.
meekness--The oldest manuscripts read, "meek-spiritedness," namely, towards the opponents of the Gospel.

O man of God. This expression is used in the sense of an evangelist devoted to God's work. See 1-Samuel 9:6, 1-Samuel 9:8; 1-Kings 13:1, 1-Kings 13:4, 1-Kings 13:8.
Flee these things. The love of money. Instead of following after money, seek after righteousness, etc.
Fight the good fight of faith. The thought is of a soldier. See 1-Timothy 1:18. The Christian life is a struggle. Oppose hurtful earthful lusts, but seize upon eternal life.
Hast professed a good profession. When called to eternal life. "This refers probably to his baptism, when, as we know from very early times, a public profession of faith was made."--Speaker's Commentary. "The Divine call, and the confession of believers are correlatives; they imply each other."--Bengel. Compare Acts 8:37.

But thou, O man of God - Whatever all the world else do. A man of God is either a prophet, a messenger of God, or a man devoted to God; a man of another world. Flee - As from a serpent, instead of coveting these things. Follow after righteousness - The whole image of God; though sometimes this word is used, not in the general, but in the particular, acceptation, meaning only that single branch of it which is termed justice. Faith - Which is also taken here in the general and full sense; namely, a divine, supernatural sight of God, chiefly in respect of his mercy in Christ. This faith is the foundation of righteousness, the support of godliness, the root of every grace of the Spirit. Love - This St. Paul intermixes with everything that is good: he, as it were, penetrates whatever he treats of with love, the glorious spring of all inward and outward holiness.

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