PIETY
Alistair M Brown
1 Timothy 3:14-16 to “in flesh”; 2:1-4; 4: 7,8; 6: 6
All these scriptures refer to piety. It is remarkable how much the apostle has to say to Timothy about that subject in his first epistle. There is a very interesting address on piety where these scriptures in 1 Timothy were read, and it is well worth reading, A J Gardiner, ‘Piety and Other Addresses’, p1.
We are reading 1 Timothy at home and these verses impressed themselves upon us. What we have had earlier this evening as to the Lord being our Model has also come to mind. It says of the Lord Jesus in Hebrews that He “offered up both supplications and entreaties … with strong crying and tears; (and having been heard because of his piety)”, chap 5: 7. The Lord Jesus is a Model for us in piety.
Some light might be shed on that by the expression that is used here in our first scripture that “the mystery of piety is great”. That is a reference to the incarnation, to the Lord Jesus come in flesh. God, existing in uncreated light whom no man has seen nor can see (1 Tim 6: 16), has become incarnate in Christ. He was found in figure as a Man (Phil 2: 8), meaning that the Lord took a body. That is described by Paul writing to Timothy as the mystery of piety being great. How great it is that God should come into manhood, that Christ should be found here as a Man in the reality of everyday circumstances of human life, although He Himself blessedly unique amid these circumstances, but a real Man demonstrating piety. He demonstrated many things; among them was piety. As Peter says, “leaving you a model that ye should follow in his steps”, 1 Pet 2: 21.
Piety has been described as bringing God into our circumstances (F E Raven vol 4 p52), into everyday things. It is not something that is particularly for the meetings; it is to characterise our lives. Piety characterised the life of Christ. What does it mean? It would be a very interesting thing to think about and to enquire into. Dependence characterised the Lord Jesus, dependence on His Father, as has been brought before us already. It is such a central feature of manhood according to God. The Lord Jesus demonstrated dependence, and not only that, He defines manhood according to God. When God looks at us, He looks for features of Christ. He sees perfectly what we are.
Not only does God see what we do and what we say, which others can too, but He sees what our motives are and what is in our hearts - what we think and feel as well as what we say and do. When God looked on Christ, He found perfection in all that He thought and felt as well as what He said and what He did. What God saw in that blessed Man was glorious. You could never exhaust all that God saw in Christ; but He saw perfection and piety. For men that is a mystery. A natural man cannot understand Christ but by the Spirit we take account of Him, and He is attractive to us. He draws out our affections.
We have been impressed this evening by the love of the Lord Jesus for us. My desire is simply that we might be impressed by His piety - by His dependence, His lowliness, His meekness. All of these features come into piety, and they were found perfectly in Christ. Of course, piety for us involves things that were not involved for the Lord because of His perfection. For example, piety involves self-judgment; I speak for myself. The Lord Jesus did not need to judge Himself because there was nothing whatsoever in the Lord that deviated from the will of His God and Father. There is always present in me what would deviate from the will of God. That is why we need the Spirit’s help to judge ourselves. In Christ there was nothing like that. He remains a wonderful, perfect Model.
In chapter 2 of Timothy where we read, it is “a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and gravity”. Gravity means there is not lightness, nothing whimsical. Not saying, ‘What will I do today and what will I do tomorrow?’. That is just my will, and that is what lightness is an expression of. “Gravity” is the opposite in this context. Piety and gravity would go together in bringing God’s mind and will into my circumstances; and also, as has been said before, arranging my circumstances so that God can come into them. That is something for me to think about, and I would suggest for all of us, because this is an exhortation. “I exhort therefore, first of all”, Paul says at the beginning of chapter 2. These are matters for exhortation, but the person who gives the exhortation must start with themselves. A Christian’s life is to be marked by “piety and gravity”, not just for a few hours a week but our whole lives. We are not the judges of one another’s piety, but God is. His assessment of that is perfect because He sees everything, and is entirely fair in His assessment.
Piety relates to what is moral. A pious person, in a consistent and organic way, affecting their whole lives, accords with God’s view and gives Him pleasure: it is pleasing to God. Piety practiced also provides conditions in the heart and in the life of a believer in which the Holy Spirit’s help can be experienced. If we want to be pious, which is Paul’s burden in writing these things to Timothy - that the younger brother should want to be pious and be intelligent about what piety involves - then we need to make room for the Spirit. If we do not do our own wills but God’s will, that immediately makes room for the Spirit to come in. How important that is.
As I give the Spirit room to work, I am taking away barriers to His operating in me; and He helps me to subdue my own will so that God’s will might prevail. If the Spirit has room to operate, that promotes spirituality, which is essential if we are to enjoy the spiritual blessings that God has prepared for us, has purposed in His heart for us. It has often been said, and it is true and is very important to prove in our Christian experience, that what is moral underlies what is spiritual. It has been said that you can have a house that has a bottom storey, a ground floor, without an upper floor; but you cannot have a house that has an upper floor and no ground floor. You cannot have what is spiritual without a moral foundation; it will mean nothing, and will be without substance. Piety is an important aspect of what is morally consistent with Christ and God looks for piety in us, in every believer. Piety gives the Spirit liberty and that promotes the enjoyment of spiritual things together. These blessings flow from a “life in all piety and gravity”.
Where we read in chapter 4, there is a reference to exercising ourselves unto piety. That suggests it needs hard work. The apostle then contrasts piety, and the exercise of ourselves to piety, with bodily exercise. What he says is that some physical exercise promotes good health, it profits for a little, and then he says, “but piety is profitable for everything” - a remarkable statement. I do not think you find anything else in Scripture that is described as profitable for everything, but piety is; and what the Scripture says is true. I need to think about that.
Piety also has “promise of life, of the present one” (that is the lives that we live here), and of the coming one. That is interesting, is it not? Piety has some relation to our eternal condition, to our coming life. Piety might appear to have little to do with eternal conditions, because then there will be no evil to be judged or flesh in me to be overcome; there will be a wholly new creation. But the apostle says that piety has promise of life that is to come. In the life to come, we will be occupied with and enjoy spiritual things. Piety in this life gives us the capacity to enjoy spiritual things: our spiritual capacity is being formed now and piety is vital to that. We may think of piety as a moral feature, and so it is, but if we are exercised unto it our spiritual capacity is enlarged. So piety is profitable for everything - a remarkable matter.
In chapter 6 we get that very simple, pithy verse: “But piety with contentment is great gain”. Piety and contentment are preservative; they save us. Piety is also associated with salvation in chapter 2, where we read. Leading a life of piety and gravity “is good and acceptable before our Saviour God, who desires that all men should be saved”. I suggest there is some link between piety and salvation, but it cannot be our eternal salvation because that depends on the blood of Christ and having our faith in Him; how vital that is. It must refer to present salvation - salvation from the present evil world. The world has rejected Christ, it has its own sinful way of thinking and speaking and doing, but piety delivers the believer from the way of the world. That is really important practically.
We will not need to be delivered from these things when we are in eternal conditions because they will not be there. They are the result of sin in the race, and Christ will have dealt with them all, and they will have been judged and removed. But we have to overcome things of the world that appeal to us at the moment; we should desire to be delivered from them. Piety is absolutely essential to that, and helps us to be contented with our present circumstances. The Lord Jesus was content with the circumstances in which He was: we speak reverently. He did not seek a place among men; He did not seek anything except the will of God and the glory of God. He set aside what people thought of Him; it did not motivate Him or guide His actions. He followed in complete dependence and in joy the will of His God and Father. He was and is a Model of contentment and piety. My simple exhortation to myself and to all of us is that we might be found following that Model, in His footsteps.
Piety is great gain. We might think we need to have a certain standard of living and all that kind of thing, and we have to work hard to achieve it. We certainly need to fulfil righteousness and it is good to have some resources that we can use to help one another, but the great gain, according to what Paul says here, is “piety with contentment”. It leads to peace, satisfaction and happiness. These are all things that the world does not have, but the believer has them through piety.
This is a very practical word; let us through piety enjoy our blessings more, for the Lord’s name’s sake.
Word in Ministry Meeting
Linlithgow
7th August 2025