The Greatest Treasure

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 

where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

(Mat 6:20 ESV)

This Sunday we will be looking at the last section in 1 Timothy. At my first look at the passage it seemed that there were three separate topics. First, there is an encouragement to fight the good fight of faith. Then, it moves into a doxology of praise to God. Next, there are specific words of instruction for the rich. Finally, Paul closes the letter with an encouragement for Timothy to guard the Gospel deposit. I spent some time thinking about how these three things are related and I think I've found at least one way that they are. Each of the parts to this text relate to the most valuable thing in the world.

How to Take Hold of the Greatest Treasure

1 Timothy 6:11-15a is where Paul is telling Timothy how he is to take hold of the most valuable thing in the world.

  11But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time.

The first things Paul tells Timothy and us to do is to run away and to run forward. We are to flee something--specifically, the love of money and false teaching. This takes intentional effort. Paul doesn't want us to take these things lightly. He says, run away. Then he tells us to run forward. We are to pursue certain characteristics. We are to chase after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. This list has overlap with the fruits of the spirit. The Christian is to pursue all of these qualities in order to take hold of the most valuable treasure of all. Next, Paul tells us to fight the good fight of the faith. The Christian life involves struggle and wrestling. We fight, and the biggest enemy we fight is within--the flesh. Next, Paul tells us to take hold of the eternal life to which we were called. God has initiated here. He has already done the calling. In response to the effectual call of the Holy Spirit, believers then take hold of eternal life. We grab it and we hold it tightly. Finally, Paul tells Timothy, and us to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach. In the context of 1 Timothy, I think that this is talking about Timothy's charge to the Gospel ministry. How will Timothy take hold of the greatest treasure? He will do all these things, in the power of the Spirit, and he will faithfully carry out his ministry. 

What is the Greatest Treasure?

1 Timothy 6:15b-16 is where Paul tells Timothy and us of the supreme value of and the greatness of God.

He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. 

 Paul then turns from explaining how to take hold of the greatest treasure to describing that treasure. God is the greatest treasure. He breaks into an expression of praise and states that God is the blessed and only Sovereign. He is blessed--he is happy. He is the only Sovereign--he is in a class by himself. he is Sovereign--he rules over all the universe as the omnipotent creator. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords--a term that appears in Daniel 4 in the LXX and in the book of Revelation to describe Jesus. Nebuchadnezzar used this language to say that the true God rules over all the kings of every nation. In revelation this designation is applied to Jesus Christ. God is the only one with immortality. While believers have been promised eternal life, we are not truly immortal because we are dependent on the sustaining power of God. We will face death in this life unless we live to the return of Christ, but we will be raised to live with him forever. However, we will not be independent. Our eternal life will forever be dependent upon God. He dwells in unapproachable light. Like the experience of driving into the sun and being blinded by the light, except multiplied by a million times--the light of God is so bright we cannot look upon it, yet he dwells there in the middle. No one has ever or can see him, and as John 1:18 says, Jesus is the only one who has, and Jesus has revealed to us what we are not able to see on our own. To him be honor and dominion. He is worthy of all of our praise and honor. He is the king of all creation.

Our Attitude Toward All Other Things in Comparison to the Greatest Treasure

Finally, 1 Timothy 6:17-21 tell us how we ought to think of everything else due to the surpassing value of God.

 17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. 20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called "knowledge," 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.

 God is so valuable, that the rich in this life who are believers are to live in a way that shows that He is their greatest treasure and not their money. They are to not be proud. They are not to trust in their money, but in God. How often are we looking for money to answer all our problems? They are to do good with their money. They are to hold their money loosely and to give it away generously for Kingdom purposes--so that they can send their greatest treasure on ahead of them to heaven.

 Finally, Timothy wasn't rich; he was a pastor. Paul's instruction to him was to guard the deposit of the Gospel. If God is of supreme value, then the gospel is to be guarded like an armored truck with armed security guards. Don't be fooled by false teachers who try to be impressive by their so called knowledge, but stay firmly planted in the Gospel as it was passed on to us.

"True Religion" Caring for Widows: 1 Timothy 5:1-16

There is a very important place within the life of Christians for caring for widows. James, the brother of Jesus, made the point by stating that caring for widows was at the heart of true religion. Paul gives Timothy instructions on caring for widows. The office of deacon was first instituted so that churches would be able to effectively care for widows without neglecting preaching and prayer, and Jesus commended the faith of the widow who gave all she had.

A Good Servent of Christ Jesus: 1 Timothy 4:6-16

The greatest desire of the heart of any disciple of Jesus Christ ought to be that we might be called a good servant. This is true for all believers, but it is especially true for pastors. In 1 Timothy 4, Paul is instructing Timothy on his duties and priorities of a pastor, and he tells Timothy, as well as any pastor who comes after him, how to be a good servant of Christ.

1 Timothy 4:6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.
 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;
 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.
 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
 11 Command and teach these things.
 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.
 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

The first thing that Paul says that pastors must do to be a good servant of Christ is to "put these things before the brothers." This begs the question, "what things?" In the previous verses, Paul warned that in the last times false teachers would depart from faith and be devoted to teachings of demons. This teaching was characterized by an obsession with asceticism. In contrast, Paul points to the biblical doctrine of creation and states that foods were made holy "by the word of God and prayer." I would suggest that "these things" refers to sound biblical doctrine that isn't based on superstition or man made wisdom but is grounded in the Bible.

Verses 6-10 continue to confirm that this is what "these things" is talking about. Paul says that Timothy has been trained in the "words of the faith" and the "good doctrine" which he has followed. Again, Paul is pointing Timothy to the Scriptures.

In verse 11, Paul continues the emphasis on Scripture. He says "command and teach these things." It seems he is talking about the same things as he referenced in verse 6, and then in 13 he gives specific instructions on how to carry out his charge. He says to give attention to public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching. Timothy has been charged to read the Bible publicly. This is something we don't do often enough today. There are some churches you can go to and Scripture is rarely ever read publicly more than a verse or two, and sometimes it is hard to find scripture read even during the sermon. A faithful servant of Christ will give a prominent place to the reading of Scripture as he leads the people of God in worship. But Timothy wasn't merely to read it, but he was to exhort the people with it. In other words, he was to labor to convince the congregation by words and with passion to obey and believe the biblical teaching. Paul also instructs Timothy in verse 13 to give attention to teaching or doctrine. Paul was convinced that the Scriptures presented a unified message that was consistent throughout. With this understanding of the nature of Scripture one can come to it and arrive at an understanding of what the Bible teaches about any given topic. Here Paul tells us that we are to pay attention to doctrinal orthodoxy. It isn't enough just to read the Bible and exhort people to obey it, but we must also be careful to teach what is in conformity to orthodox doctrine..

So far as we've looked at the passage, Paul instructs Timothy to oppose error (unbiblical doctrine), and to give attention to biblical teaching, but neither of these are enough. In verse 16, Paul tells Timothy, "Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching." Paul's concern isn't merely doctrinal orthodoxy, but it is on the person teaching as well. Paul had already exhorted Timothy to discipline himself for godliness, and this makes up the third element required for all good servants of Christ Jesus. We must watch both our lives and doctrine.

So, in summary, Paul's exhortation to Timothy in these verses is to 1) confront false teaching, 2) commit himself to the Bible, and 3) have a character of purity. This is our charge as well. We must have the courage to call out false teaching when others would think that we are being judgmental or too "restrictive." We must have the commitment to Scripture that keeps us chained to the Bible that we do not leave it behind for the latest whims of the world. We must watch our lives, and we must fight the battle with the flesh, that we may live lives of holiness in the fear of God.