1 Timothy 3:14-4:5

3:14-15 | Paul expresses a desire to be with Timothy in Ephesus. But if Pual had not been delayed, we would not have these words today. Whatever our disappointments, God can use them to accomplish His purposes.

3:15 | The truth of the gospel does not come from God’s people; it has come to God’s people via the church. This truth is precious- the bedrock upon which the church is founded. It must not be squandered, watered down, compromised, or traded for any philosophical fad. Every local church must be a place where the gospel is supported, proclaimed, and lived out by its members.

3:16 | When Paul begins with the words without controversy, he is saying there can never be any argument about what follows. The mystery of godliness is Christ manifested in the flesh (Matt. 1:23; John 1:14; Gal. 4:4; 1 John 1:2) – His life, death, resurrection, and exaltation.

4:1-3 | The false teaching circulating in Ephesus later developed into Gnosticism. It also apparently combined a speculative teaching based on the OT law. These ideas were contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture (Rom. 5:8). Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice as the atonement for sin is just as distasteful to unbelievers today as it was then.

4:1 | This doctrine of demons held, among other things, that salvation is a matter of secret knowledge available only to an enlightened elite and that matter is evil and spirit is good. Thus, if God is good and holy, He would have nothing to do with the evil material world; He would not create it or take on flesh and die for sinners.

4:3-5 | These false teachers sinned by thinking that abstaining from things God has approved – such as marriage and certain foods – was a matter of salvation. Because they emphasized the spiritual over the physical, these false teachers were promoting extreme ascetic practices (avoiding anything physical) and confusing this with godly living.