‘Exercise yourself toward godliness.
For bodily exercise has some value,
but godliness has value in all things,
having the promise of the life which is now
and of that which is to come.’
(1 Timothy 4:7-8)
This concise ‘saying’(1 Timothy 4:9), recorded in a letter from the apostle Paul to his spiritual ‘child’(1 Timothy 1:2; 1 Corinthians 4:17) in the faith Timothy, is rich in godly wisdom, quite literally. It’s been preserved for us in ‘scripture’(2 Timothy 3:16, cf. 2 Peter 3:15-16) so that its wisdom can be ‘received’(Philippians 4:9) by all in God’s family, and applied – the key point here. Such word-seeds, ‘planted… watered’(1 Corinthians 3:6) and cultivated appropriately, are the main way in which our spiritual family of ‘“brother… sister… mother”’(Matthew 12:50) etc. flourishes, both numerically, and in the godliness this ‘saying’ aims to encourage.
The first thing to note is the interesting assertion from Paul that physical exercise is of ‘some value’ – so at least a little. It’s worth pausing to reflect on that. Partly this must include the merit of being a good steward of our God given health, although not particularly to prolong ‘“life”’(Matthew 16:25) or avoid ‘jeopardy’(1 Corinthians 15:30, cf. Acts 21:13), even ‘“death”’(Luke 21:16). It might, however, include things like using medical knowledge to prevent ‘infirmities’(1 Timothy 5:23), and certainly there’s value in not causing ill health through being a ‘glutton’(Proverbs 23:21) or similar. No doubt Paul would recommend some actual physical exercise as well, but not inappropriate pointless ‘severity to the body’(Colossians 2:23, cf. 1 Timothy 4:3), which he warns against. Improved physical fitness might give any of us more resilience for our ‘labours’(2 Corinthians 11:23ff.) in the kingdom, and the often resulting mental sharpness or associated training in ‘self-control’(1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Peter 1:6; Galatians 5:23) could have spiritual benefits too.
That brings us nicely to Paul’s main point here, comparing the merits of physical fitness with exercising ourselves ‘towards godliness’. Obviously there’s an element of godliness in the things already considered, but what exactly is godliness, at its root?
Interestingly, ‘godliness’(1 Timothy 3:16) is first and foremost about this root – in God! Godly ‘“fruit”’(John 15:5; Luke 6:44ff.), which is often how we think about godliness, comes from having ‘set our trust in the living God’(1 Timothy 4:10) like Paul here. With both our root and focus there, rather than in (or on) the world, which tends to worldliness, we ‘with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image… to glory… from the Lord, the Spirit’(2 Corinthians 3:18), whose godly ‘fruit’(Galatians 5:22ff.) we then bear, or wear: ‘compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility… perseverance… love… peace’(Colossians 3:12-15) etc., through being ‘renewed… after the image of [our] Creator’(Colossians 3:10). So our gaze towards these ‘things that are above’(Colossians 3:1ff.) ought to become quite practical in its expression, which must especially characterise the ‘life’(1 Timothy 4:12) of leaders, as Paul details earlier in this letter by expanding on another ‘faithful saying…’(1 Timothy 3:1ff.).
And so to the value of godliness, including this practical value for ‘the life which is now’, which should be obvious from those descriptions. Where godliness is allowed to thrive, under godly leaders, even in secular roles, whole societies can enjoy a ‘tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence’(1 Timothy 2:2) – so we pray. Godliness also comes with ‘contentment’(1 Timothy 6:6), but not a contentment that’s dependant upon such favourable worldly circumstances, since that’s not our focus, always remembering that ‘we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out’(1 Timothy 6:7). Rather we’re looking to ‘the eternal life to which [we] were called’(1 Timothy 6:12). That’s where our solid, lasting ‘“treasure”’(Matthew 6:21) is forming a ‘foundation’(1 Timothy 6:19), and where the motivation behind all our practical godliness whilst here is rightly grounded – ‘the promise of the life… to come’, which Paul emphasises more.
So let’s exercise ourselves ‘toward’ these things, maintaining fitness ‘to the extent that we have already attained’(Philippians 3:16) it, and ‘press on’(Philippians 3:12ff.), to ‘run with perseverance’(Hebrews 12:1ff.) heavenwards.
This will obviously involve receiving ‘teaching… and… instruction’(2 Timothy 3:16) from God’s word, but we mustn’t get stuck there, never actually exercising – the spiritual equivalent of sitting in a gym reading training manuals, never actually using the equipment, let alone hitting the track! Such ‘faith’(James 2:18) often becomes ‘obsessed with arguments, disputes, and word battles’(1 Timothy 6:4) rather than ‘doctrine which is according to godliness’(1 Timothy 6:3). So let’s give ‘all diligence’(2 Peter 1:5ff.) to a workout programme that involves out-worked ‘godliness’(2 Peter 1:7), ‘the goal’(1 Timothy 1:5) of Paul’s letter, not just ‘vain talking’(1 Timothy 1:6) or ‘chatter’(1 Timothy 6:20).
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