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NT Doctrine -- 1 Timothy 4 - Ed Hurst - 06-01-2024
There is a unifying theme in this chapter: We do not accomplish a spiritual mission by worldly means. Holiness is not a quality of this world, but something beyond this level of existence that can only be indicated, symbolized, and demonstrated. The actions and symbols were not the point.
The Spirit of God had warned that men would pervert the truth by letting demons lead them astray. The greatest lies of Satan are always just a step away from the truth. It was bad enough that there were a host of pagan cults people kept trying to drag into the church. They had all kinds of silly rules about diet, sex, etc. But trying to enforce the Kosher Laws on those who were not of Israel was simply wrong, given that the Covenant of Moses died on the Cross. Those laws no longer applied to any human on earth.
Prior to Moses, God had said through Noah that all creatures were our prey, and instructed Peter in no uncertain terms that God had removed the temporary limitations of Moses, reopening all food to His children in Christ. But the silly notion that there could be some superior grade of personal holiness by avoiding certain foods or by avoiding marriage and sexual relations were already old corruptions of Moses by the time Jesus began His ministry. The whole idea of these demonic teachings was to trap people’s minds on this plane, causing them to mystify the higher plane so that it remained out of reach, subject to fables and man-made legends.
The eternal realm is our home; we belong there. The flesh must be humbled before the heart and trained to accept leadership. That's what the law codes were for -- to give an example in context of how eternal living appears. With the end of the Old Covenant, we seek only to understand what it signifies about God's character.
What God provides is a blessing. We are to receive these things gratefully; this is closer to holiness than any form of abstention on any grounds. At its most innocent, this whole thing was confusion over what God gave for our use versus what He said to avoid. God’s Word is clear on most things and His blessings were well known. We are surely bound to seek and receive them in ways that reflect our commitment to eternity, but the things themselves are gifts of grace to symbolize the vast riches of that eternal life.
There are valid reasons for avoiding some things in this world on medical grounds, of exercising a certain form of restraint and physical training based on mere practicalities, but even that is subject to the calling of God. His provisions in this world often come with limitations, but an individual call to restriction does not constitute doctrine. The highest profit is not a fit body. Spiritual health matters far more than the practicalities of physical health; we use the resources of this passing plane of existence to bring to life the higher truth. The words of Scripture mean nothing if they don’t bring us closer to the Living Word. We suffer enough from the natural results of walking in Him without making up new ways to distract ourselves with arguments arising from human intellectual speculations. Paul reminds Timothy to keep everyone focused on such teaching.
God appointed Timothy; he needed no human approval to walk in the power of the Lord. The silly human notions, about how long one had lived and how thoroughly the mind was trained and seasoned intellectually, meant nothing against a living truth which had been around before mankind. Timothy's age or academic background made no difference. If he could walk in the power of the Ancient of Days, then his teaching arose from that power, not mere human intellect. As long as Timothy bathed his conduct in studying the Scriptures, preaching and teaching from them, then every other issue could wait for Paul to come settle.
Ignoring the posturing and social jockeying of these corrupt “teachers”, Timothy was encouraged to remember and keep fresh the vivid sense of his calling, of the prophecies he received when the council laid hands on him. Those educational pedigrees and talents meant nothing in God’s Courts. Paul had better certifications than most and they meant little to him. What mattered was the simple gospel message and the Scriptures because it was by this that the Lord worked among human souls, building up His Eternal Kingdom.