GODLINESS – DIVINE / HUMAN ROLE
(I Tim. 4:7a)
OVERVIEW OF I TIMOTHY 1:1 to 4:6
1:1-2 – Overview of Christian Faith based on His names and blessings.
1:3-4a False teaching in Ephesus and how humanistic philosophy effects us today.
1:4b-6 – Commanded to love. (Loving God, fellow Christians, the non-Christian world)
1:7-8 – The law’s deterrent, punitive and educative purposes
1:8-11 – “Whatever else …” The Gospel Ethic. (Law-Philia University)
1:11 – Our Relationship with “The Blessed God.” (Causing God pain or joy)
1:12-16 Why Paul considered himself the worst of sinners.
1:12-16 Conversion of the apostle Paul.
1:12-16 Paul’s call to ministry.
1:17 Paul’s doxology of praise for his conversion.
1:18-20 How to avoid shipwrecking our faith.
2:1-3 The Christian is to pray for all men.
2:4,6 Comparison of Calvinism & Armenianism.
2:5-6 The man, Christ Jesus, the only mediator.
2:1-7 The vision, the message, the means.
2:8-15 Treatment of women in the ancient world, the early church and the Bible.
2:8-15 Three key hermeneutic principles to follow when studying the Bible.
2:8 Praying Men with Peaceful Hearts
2:9-10 A First-Century Christian Woman’s Dress and Deeds
2:11-12 Does Submission Demand Silence?
2:13-15 Paul’s Logic for Requiring Women to Be Silent in The Ephesian House Churches.
3:1 Why Aspiring to Church Leadership Can Be a Good Thing.
3:2 Spiritual Gifting Required of an Ephesian Elder – Teaching
3:2 Spiritual Gifting Required of an Ephesian Elder – Hospitality
3:4-5 Spiritual Gifting Required of an Ephesian Elder –Leadership
3:2-7 Ethical Demands of the NT and the Ethics Tests for Elders
3:2-7 Ethical Qualities Required of an Ephesian Elder
3:8-13 The Ever Present Danger of Ethical Disconnect in a Christian’s Life
3:8-13 The Ministry of Deacons in the Early Church
3:9 Keeping Hold of the Deep Truths of the Faith
3:11 An Official Deaconesses in the NT Church?
3:14 Results That are Better Than Answered Prayer
3:15 God’s New Community – The Church of the Living God
3:15 God’s New Community – God’s Household
3:15 God’s New Community – The Pillar & Foundation of the Truth
3:16a Introduction to the Hymn in I Tim. 3:15 – The Mystery of Godliness
3:16a The Mystery of Godliness – A Life Focused on Christ
3:16b The Incarnation – He Appeared in a Body
4:1-2 How False Teaching Enters the Church
4:3-5 Common Grace
4:6 Word of God in Life of the Believer
4:7a Godliness – Divine / Human Role
Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly (I Tim 4:7).
INTRODUCTION:
* You may think I am wandering far away from I Timothy today but because of the command in verse 7 I think we need to do some background study.
1. Abbreviated version of John Stott’s definition of “godliness”
A godly person has experienced a Christian conversion. Whereas his life was previously focused on himself it is now focused on Christ. Knowing, loving and pleasing God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit dominates and gives direction to His life. A godly person lives a God-centered life.
2. A godly person will certainly manifest certain Christian characteristics which at least in part can be summed up as the “fruit of the Spirit.”
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Gal. 5:22-23).
I. GOD’S ROLE IN PRODUCING GODLINESS
A. Various ways of describing Scriptural pathways to godliness.
Deeper Christian Life
Crucified life (L.E. Maxwell)
Identification with Christ (Neil Anderson)
Abiding in Christ (Andrew Murray)
Spirit Filled Life
Keswick Experience
Second Blessing
Perfect Love
Union with Christ / Divine Union / Oneness with Christ
The Exchanged Life
Total Sanctification
The Life of Rest
An 11 page Annotated Bibliography of books (150 titles) on God’s role in producing holiness in our lives www.christinyou.net/pdfs/unionbiblio.pdf). Some of the titles are as follows:
Christ in us, Christ as Us, Christ Through Us; The Deep Things of God, The Liberating Secret, The Key to Everything; Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret; Naturally Supernatural, Letting Jesus Live Through You; Life on the Highest Plane; The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life.
B. Basic theories of the “Deeper Life”
THEORY A – SALVATION ALONE IS THE KEY. In we have all we need to live a godly life. Our two natures, the spirit and the flesh, will always be with us and we will always struggle to be godly but gradual growth is the key to a deepening faith, victory over sin and godliness.
THEORY B – INITIAL AND CONTINUAL INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. There must be a filling of the Spirit by faith, a filling subsequent to salvation. In faith we pray and accept that the Spirit fills our life, even if there is no inward assurance. Now we move forward be continually filled and also being filled with the Spirit to grow into godliness.
THEORY C — A UNIQUE WORK OF SANCTIFICATION. A second work of grace in the heart, entire sanctification, a definite work in the believer, both negative and positive. Negatively, it purifies the heart, destroys the body of sin, crucifies the flesh, cleanses from all sin. Positively, it fills with the Spirit, perfects love, perfects holiness, sanctifies wholly. Those who preach and believe it testify to the destruction of the old nature, the removal of carnality from the heart, the replacement of the heart of stone by the heart of flesh through the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire. Yet at the same time, all who teach thus are most careful to stress that such an experience can be lost through disobedience or neglect; that the close walk with God must be maintained.
THEORY D: A UNIQUE WORK OF GRACE AUTHENTICATED BY A SIGN GIFT, USUALLY TONGUES. Similar to Theory C but insist that the experience of entire sanctification be accompanied with outward signs / manifestations, usually speaking in tongues etc.
All of the above would generally accept the statement of Major Ian Thomas: “Godliness is the direct and exclusive consequence of God’s activity in man” (Ian Thomas).
“The key to sanctification is a divine work of God” (Norman Grubb)
C. Scriptural support for “The Crucified Life”
Mr. Maxwell, in his late sixties, had a dramatic “deeper life experience” when leading PBI. He wrote several books about this topic, one becoming a classic, “Born Crucified.”
Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin (Romans 6:6).
For he who has died is freed from sin (Romans 6:7).
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Gal. 2:20).
Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11).
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Col 3:1).
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).
II. MAN’S ROLE IN PRODUCING GODLINESS
* If we are serious about becoming godly individuals we must deal with some “besetting” sins every day. Who has not had to face their own self-centeredness, selfishness, worry and anxiety, self control (spending money toys, clothes, over-eating) evil thoughts, gossiping, neglecting tasks we know we should be doing etc. etc.
* If we have never been frustrated in living a godly life, being victorious over sin, we haven’t been serious enough about our Christian walk.
* In helping us get victory the “Deeper Life” people would tend to say, “’Let go and let God’ give you victory. Quit trying to live a holy life on self-effort!”
Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Mt. 22:37-39) You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal. 5:13-14).
Be joyful always (I Thes. 5:16); Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil. 4:4).
(As a result of prayer) the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7). If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Rom. 12:18).
Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift (Mt. 5:23).
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:20-21).
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (I Cor. 9:25-27).
III. RECONCILING THE ROLE OF GOD AND THE ROLE OF MAN IN PRODUCING GODLINESS IN THE BELIEVER.
A. Accepting seeming paradoxes in Scripture.
“If one wishes to eliminate uncertainty, tension, confusion and disorder from one’s life, there is no point in getting mixed up with Yahweh or with Jesus of Nazareth” (Phil Yancey quoting Andrew Greely in “Reaching for the Invisible God” Pg. 92.
Throughout church history, Christian leaders have shown an impulse to pin everything down, to reduce behavior and doctrine to absolutes that could be answered on a true-false test. Significantly, I do not find this tendency in the Bible. Far from it, I find instead the mystery and uncertainty that characterize any relationship, especially a relationship between a perfect God and fallible human being (Reaching for the Invisible God, pg. 92)
Christianity got over the difficulty of combining furious opposites, by keeping them both, and keeping them both furious. (G.K. Chesterton in Reaching for the Invisible God, pg. 92)
Truth is not in the middle, and not in one extreme, but in both extremes (Charles Simeon in Reaching for the Invisible God, pg. 93).
B. Experiencing and seeking all that God has provided for us in Christ and through the Holy Spirit … trusting Him for a deep, sovereign work of holiness subsequent to our salvation. We are crucified with Christ and he does dwell in us and we live in him. We are one with Christ, in union with him to such an extent we have exchanged our life for his and are able to experience the “Life of Rest.” Christ wants us realize His presence in us and to abide in him, being continually filled with His Spirit. A new awareness and actualization of these facts and acceptance of them by faith can be so life changing that they can understandably be called the Second Blessing, Perfect Love or Entire Sanctification.
C. Focus on developing spiritual disciplines that move us in the direction of godliness, of being a godly person: Train yourself to be godly.
SO WHAT?
1. Are we only dipping our toes in all that God has provided for us in Christ? Is salvation by grace all we have experienced as a result of our trust in God? If so we may be very miserable Christians. One guy once said, “Being a Presbyterian won’t keep you from sinning but it sure will take all of the fun out of it.”
2. Did all that God wanted to do for us stop at the moment of our salvation? Is the march towards holiness now totally dependent on us and our self-effort? Or is there are deeper work of grace He wants to do, a deeper work of holiness that can only be done by a further step of faith on our part?
3. We need to live with two seemingly contradictory positions: Godliness is generated by God working in us and Godliness is generated through our personal training.
4. We need to “train ourselves to be godly.”