PIETY - PROFITABLE FOR EVERYTHING
[p. 302] PIETY — PROFITABLE FOR EVERYTHING
1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:1,2; 1 Timothy 4:8; 1 Timothy 6:3-6; 1 Timothy 6:11
JT The thought of piety is, of course, found elsewhere in Scripture, but this epistle presents it, perhaps, more fully than any other section, there being several direct references to it. Chapter 3:16 is, I suppose, the most important of all scriptures dealing with the matter. The thought of piety is, as no doubt most of us know, God brought in here, whether in Christ — as in this verse — or in us, God brought in in character, as compared with spirituality, which is more our entrance into God’s realm. Spirituality is, of course, involved in piety, but spirituality enables us to enter into where God is. In piety He is brought in here where contrariety is; so that it seemed to me to be a subject that would be helpful as bearing on us practically. It is worked out from the manifestation of God here — God “manifested in flesh”. What is called the “mystery of piety” is worked out in that connection.
HH Is that a kind of standard for piety, Christ having come here?
JT I think that is the thought in verse 16 of chapter 3: “God has been manifested in flesh, has been justified in the Spirit, has appeared to angels, has been preached among the nations, has been believed on in the world, has been received up in glory”. You could hardly get any richer verse than that, referring to God here where evil is; that He has come in, not simply to reveal Himself, but here in human circumstances and, as here in Christ, working out the thought of piety. Of course, it is in Jesus He came in, God manifest in the flesh was there, it was in Man. There could not be the idea of piety, or the standard of it presented, aside from the fact that what came in was in Man. The walk of Christ and His ways here. His [p. 303] ministry, all exemplified the thought of piety, whilst, at the same time, manifesting God, for He was God.
AMH Is that the idea of mystery, that it is God there, but yet it is Man?
JT Yes. It is not unknowable, but it is mystery; Christians are capable of understanding divine mysteries.
AMH They are instructed. Have you any thought as to its being connected with the house of God?
JT That is how piety stands — “how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). So that behaviour in the house is evidently linked with it, the house being viewed here as the residence of God, where the truth is maintained. So that it is all on the same line that there is something here, in the scene where evil is, that is of God preserved in a most practical way — piety suggesting what is most practical. In a word, it would be God coming in, conditions being suitable for that, first in Christ and now in the house and in each of us; the pious person brings God into every circumstance. But then spirituality enables us to enter into His realm of things; so that the forty days of the Lord’s sojourn here after He rose would be to help us into the spiritual realm.
ESH We could hardly enter into God’s side of things apart from piety; could we?
JT Well, they hang together. It is incongruous to assume to be able to take part in assembly Godward aside from piety, that is, capability of bringing God in here into one’s circumstances.
Ques “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4)”. Is that piety, seen in Jesus?
JT That would be the thought, I am sure. He lived by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. It implies intimacy in your practical relations with God, that is, what proceeds out of His mouth — not simply the Scriptures.
WC [p. 304] Would the forty days in the wilderness cover in the main the manifestation of God in a way? You have mentioned the forty days after the Lord rose as connected with spirituality. He was seen of angels in the wilderness.
JT Yes, He was with the wild beasts, too. There were the most adverse circumstances, but nevertheless He lived by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. What communications there must have been in those terrible circumstances! The temptations of the devil were to the end that the Lord should take Himself out of God’s hands; that is what the devil sought; to bring to an end the idea of piety. He would say, ‘Do the thing Yourself’. But the Lord maintains the position that all is to be ordered by what comes out of the mouth of God, which would bring God in here. So that the Lord moved in the midst of the wild beasts, and what circumstances could be more terrible! We have the standard of piety in Christ, He was “heard in that he feared” (Hebrews 5:7).
HH The standard being what is seen in Jesus here, there should be exercise with us to maintain right behaviour in the house of God.
JT Quite so, that is how the thing works out, and what God is aiming at all the time as to the public side is the local meeting. The forty days after the Lord rose link up with the inner side of the assembly, but the forty days’ temptation is the public side, and the thought is that there should be some evidence locally that “God is in you of a truth” (1 Corinthians 14:25). Piety means that I bring God into everything, and if I cannot bring Him into anything, I must give that up. If it be my calling, I remain where I am with God, and then it is worked out in the local company, so that the bearing of it is public.
Ques Does piety involve the knowledge of God?
JT It does. The verse in 1 Timothy contemplates that God was manifested in flesh, that all that He is [p. 305] characteristically came out in Jesus, and what happened by the Spirit justified it; He was “justified in the Spirit”. It is not the creeds, nor even the Bible by itself, it is the Spirit. The Bible, of course, is indited by the Spirit, but it is the Spirit who justifies what comes out. Then, “seen of angels”. I suppose they saw Jesus in various ways; who can tell all that transpired in the days of His flesh, which angels saw?
Rem The thought is seen very largely in the Psalms. In Psalm 89:18 God is referred to as “the Holy One”, and in verses 5 and 7 the same thought is seen in “the saints”, or the holy ones.
JT That is the idea, the word there in Psalm 89 for “Holy One” is given to mean that, see footnote in New Translation. It is a very important word in Scripture.
Rem Psalm 4:3 says that God has “set apart the pious man for himself”.
JT That is a very beautiful thought; it is set out in Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved”, the Lord says. He takes such a lowly attitude that He says His goodness does not extend to God, and right through the psalm that is brought out, how God would come in for Him, not leaving His soul in death, nor suffering His Holy One to see corruption. It is, as you remark, the value God sets on that pious Man.
Ques “He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the instructed”, Isaiah 50:4. Would that be the way God would be allowed to come into the circumstances of every day?
JT Yes, and that brings out the importance of our starting the day with our family with the Scripture, the word of God. “Every creature of God is good” (1 Timothy 4:4), as we get in this epistle. It is “sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:5), that is, the creature comes in for sanctification. The creatures we use take on sanctification by God’s speaking to us — as was remarked about the [p. 306] Lord in the wilderness, the mouth of God — and our speaking to God, and therefore we are qualified to go forth into our businesses, the children to go to school, and all that, so that we may bring God into those positions. It is a great triumph that one may bring God into the most terrible circumstances; some of us may be obliged to work in peculiarly unholy scenes. The general thought of piety is in the verse read in 1 Timothy 3 — it is very rich. What the angels saw, and that He was preached among the nations, believed on in the world and received up in glory. So it illustrates Christianity in its widest thought, Christ known among the nations and received up in glory.
In chapter 2 the early verses are to call attention to our prayers and intercessions for all men, how piety is seen in that, as it says, “that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and gravity”. That is, our prayers for all men and the authorities have in mind that we may have a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and gravity — a great matter, for there is such tumult about — the wicked like a troubled sea, casting up mire and dirt.
AMH Why does the apostle say, “first of all” here? Is it just that it was outstanding as important in his mind?
JT I thought that, it is the first exhortation he has, this matter of praying for all men and the authorities. “I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men; for kings and all that are in dignity”. This would be in keeping with the gospel, and so good and acceptable before our Saviour God; and it would bring in what God had in mind as early as Genesis; that the saints have an intercessory position in regard to all men and particularly those in authority. God said to Abimelech of Abraham, “He is a prophet, and will pray for thee” (Genesis 20:7). In Psalm 105 we are told that God reproved kings for the sake of His saints, but they were [p. 307] to pray for the kings. He says, Abraham will pray for you — as if it would be his disposition to do it, and I think you have that thought right through the Scriptures. Here in Timothy the “first of all” would mean that this is a great matter, for the epistle is to show us how the testimony is to be honoured in us. How can that be save as God is with us and brought into our circumstances? And what a great favour it is to be brought into an intercessory position before God, as to men! It dignifies our position — we are morally greater than those we are interceding for.
Ques Would this work out practically in the preservation of the saints?
JT That is how it works out, that we may have a quiet life in the exercise of piety. I think this matter of the authorities is very important; not simply our own immediate ruler, but all rulers and all persons who are said to be in dignity. It should enter into our public collective prayers as well as our personal prayers.
Rem In answer to our prayers God would work through these dignitaries.
JT Yes, so that we may have peace. What has marked the world in recent times is upheavals, it is a revolutionary period of the world’s history — never more so.
Rem It is put on us to effect things for good by prayer.
JT And we do; I have no doubt that conditions in this country are largely the outcome of that. In countries where there is not much of it, apostasy and upheavals of all kinds are making more headway. That is the first thing, after the great general thought, this matter of prayer for all men — the whole race is before us — then for kings and all that are in dignity.
Ques Is it that we are brought in line with God’s thoughts in regard of all men?
JT That is the idea; the passage goes on to say, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). That is the general position in regard of the gospel, and really explains what is said in Romans that the world is in reconciliation. Kings and those in dignity are in positions of influence, and God enjoins that they should be prayed for particularly because they have influence and might represent Him too.
Rem So you would make room for this in the prayer meeting.
JT Yes, because it is a public thing. It bears on what Paul had effected at Ephesus; the conditions in the assembly there would make way for all this.
AMH I was wondering whether “first of all” just refers to this setting. What about the Lord’s prayer beginning with something for the Father; do you think that has any indication for us as to the order of the prayer meeting?
JT Here the public position of the testimony is in view — the assembly being the pillar and base of the truth. It was to be evangelical, and its prayers should reflect this. I suppose “first of all” would hint that the saints would be apt to overlook such prayers. Today not more than a tithe of the brethren have on their minds the importance of praying in this general or universal way. Generally our prayers do not go far afield. If we have church ears we shall know all that goes on universally that affects the testimony; things will come to you. We read in the Acts that certain things came to “the ears of the assembly” (Acts 11:22); those ears were listening, and God will use ears like that. We read also of increasing prayer by the assembly to God concerning Peter as imprisoned. — How is it that we are so peaceful, that we are not living in dens and caves of the earth, as brethren did earlier? God has acted in a governmental way for us through appointed rulers. It is important to recognise them and pray for them. “They are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing (Romans 13:6)”.
[p. 309] Rem God over-rules in such a way that the powers that be are favourable — that is our concern.
JT Certainly. As we were seeing in Esther, the king, the president, or the like, is swayed this way and that way. The devil will do all he can to make them contrary, but God acts upon them too as Scripture abundantly shows, and hence the great importance of praying for them, as already said. Cyrus is the outstanding example.
AMH It was whilst Daniel was praying that Michael was dealing with the princes of Persia. His concern was to liberate God’s people. Daniel in praying was intelligent as to the mind of God, and God acted in answer to his prayer.
JT Yes, and he was pleasing to heaven while he was praying; and Gabriel told him exactly what was going to happen. Everything is in God’s hands, but we must not sit down with our arms folded; prayer must go on. The idea is that in prayer the saints think as God does. Solomon and Daniel are outstanding in this respect and their prayers are peculiarly owned. Ezra in his prayer recognised that God had given favour to His people before the kings of Persia, Ezra 9:9.
HH Daniel had his windows opened towards Jerusalem.
JT Quite so. Think of the delightfulness to heaven of a man like that praying! And then the messenger is sent to him telling him not only what should happen to his people immediately, but the history down to final deliverance at the coming of Christ.
Ques Do you think the objective of these prayers would be for the furtherance of the dispensation of God, which is in faith?
JT Yes, that the saints are in peace, as we are today — we may thank God for that. In some other countries they cannot come together as we do. We ask Him to help in this way and He does it,
[p. 310] Rem In Acts 4, after Peter and John had been speaking in the council, they were let go and they went to their own company and God came in.
JT Yes. They did not have the external liberty that we have, but they prayed and God shook the place, as much as to say, ‘All this power is for you’.
The next part of our subject is how men are to pray. Piety stands in relation to the way men pray and the way women dress. These are very practical things. In chapter 2:8 he says, “I will therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting up pious hands, without wrath or reasoning. In like manner also that the women in decent deportment and dress adorn themselves with modesty and discretion, not with plaited hair and gold, or pearls, or costly clothing, but, what becomes women making profession of the fear of God, by good works” (1 Timothy 2:8 - 10). That is the next thing that the Spirit of God stresses — that the men should pray everywhere; the idea is wherever prayer is being made, they are to do it, not the women; but women are to see to their dress, their externals, and that there are good works instead of showy material things. They are to be as persons who are making “profession of the fear of God” (1 Timothy 2:10).
Ques What is the idea of “without wrath”? — does it mean we are in accord with the dispensation?
JT I think that is right. It is what God is according to chapter 3:16 — God manifesting Himself.
AJG Why does he say “lifting up pious hands” (1 Timothy 2:8)?
JT It is the supplicatory attitude, alluding to what is becoming in public prayer. The allusion would be to what I am doing, because the hands refer to what I do, so that it is a question of whether I am doing what is in keeping with piety, that I am not doing anything that is contrary to what God is. It would be the “clean hands” of Psalm 24.
AMH They would not care to lift them up if they had the mark of the beast on them.
JT No, how could I lift up such hands to God?
ESH In Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple he spread forth his hands, and at the end he says, “Let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness”, (2 Chronicles 6:41).
JT That is all very beautiful as to prayer. Solomon represents the great idea, I think. Someone has said his prayer would take about eight minutes to read; comparatively short, and yet it covered the needs of the testimony right down to the end. As he finishes, the glory fills the house, showing what pleasure God may have in our prayer meetings; He makes us joyful in His house of prayer. But this implies not only what we pray for, but also how we pray.
Ques Why are good works connected with the women? Dorcas was full of good works.
JT It is needful that they should be well occupied. I think the sisters are not active enough in the things of God. They do not have to take part audibly in the assembly, but there is plenty to do. Their adornment is to be with their good works; there are plenty of them to be taken on. In Ephesians we are told that God Himself has prepared the good works for us to walk in them.
Ques You referred to Solomon kneeling in prayer, would that be more the attitude that should mark us in private prayer, or should it mark us publicly, do you think? We have references to the Lord kneeling.
JT That brings up the question of what is becoming or convenient. Brothers and sisters kneeling for the period of a meeting for prayer is uncomfortable, and hardly induces spiritual liberty. God makes us joyful in His house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7).
Rem “When ye stand praying” (Mark 11:25), we read.
JT Yes, it is quite right to stand, and we get kneeling, too, but I doubt if all kneeling for a considerable time is conducive to liberty of soul.
Ques Does “without wrath or reasoning” (1 Timothy 2:8) suggest there are conditions for prayer?
JT Yes, it refers to the state you are in, God is looking at your heart while you are praying; we must consider as to what portion God has in our meetings. Chapter 4 brings out another thing. “Bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but piety is profitable for everything, having promise of life, of the present one, and of that to come”. Piety being profitable for everything is striking. It would be difficult to get anything that is so extensive in its profitableness.
Rem So we have to set ourselves for it — “exercise thyself”.
JT That is the thought, you lay yourself out for it. A man may go out for a walk — that is bodily exercise, and it may be good, but it may reduce in value as you go on. You may do other things, but “exercise thyself unto piety” (1 Timothy 4:7) for “piety is profitable for everything”. The doctor may say you should play golf, take a walk every morning, and many things like that, and you might take his advice. Others might tell you to smoke; and we are very ready to hide behind what doctors say in that way; but they will never tell you of anything that is profitable for everything. And there are those who do not do any of the things they say, and yet they are healthy; God makes them healthy. Not that one would say a word against good advice, but to bring out what piety really is, its great value; it is bringing God into your circumstances. Even if you do not get what bodily exercise you or others may think you need, well, you will not suffer.
Rem Cornelius seems to set forth these features — it says he was a pious man, “fearing God with all his house, both giving much alms to the people, and supplicating God continually” (Acts 10:2).
JT Quite so; how pleasing he must have been to God! What I would say is, that we make too little of what God finds in these matters, what there is for [p. 313] Him in every Christian every day, and how He is ready to come in at all times. That is the idea — what pleasure He has in it, so that where there is piety, as has been said already, God sets a man apart for Himself, as if He has someone He is pleased with. Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and “before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). God says, as it were, I like that man; I like his company. We say what a good time we had, but what did God have? We must think of that side.
Rem So that type of man is “received up in glory”.
JT In Enoch you see that — a man that pleased God. You would like to be pleasing to God before He received you, so that He has pleasure in the reception.
Rem That is the way Luke’s gospel ends up in relation to the Lord, He “was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51).
JT Yes, His hands stretched out in blessing.
ESH God is so infinitely good, and the sense of that would give us the desire not to want anything save what He provides and to bring Him into every circumstance of life.
JT And the sense that He has pleasure in your company, and that any circumstance you are in, God can be in. So that you need not be without Him; it is a moment by moment matter.
ESH This would save a good many business failures, and the like.
JT Quite so. I have to see whether God is with me in making my obligations.
Ques Would you say how the good conscience stands related to this matter; that seems to have a large place with Paul in this epistle.
JT “Maintaining faith and a good conscience” (1 Timothy 1:19); certainly these two items go with piety. Faith brings God in and the conscience says, ‘I must have suitable conditions if I would bring Him in’; that is how the matter stands. Therefore I must judge everything unsparingly that God cannot go on with. You see in [p. 314] the book of Daniel how crucial our circumstances may become; things seem to hang in the balance. Daniel and his friends sought the God of heaven about this great matter on which their lives hinged; and God puts us to the test in our circumstances. I do not believe there is a single circumstance that I may be in where God would not come in, but then my conscience says, ‘Can I dare to ask Him to come into these circumstances?’ Faith brings Him in but the conscience looks after the circumstances, whether they are right.
Ques Will you say a little as to the thought of the creatures of God as in chapter 4, verse 4?
JT As to this, “the Spirit speaks expressly” — there is something very urgent — “that in latter times” — that is, our own times — “some shall apostatise from the faith, giving their mind to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons speaking lies in hypocrisy, cauterised as to their own conscience, forbidding to marry, bidding to abstain from meats, which God has created for receiving with thanksgiving for them who are faithful and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, being received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God’s word and freely addressing him” (1 Timothy 4:1 - 5). God’s creatures, used in piety, take on dignity. God allowed to speak to us and our being in liberty to speak to God sanctifies them. You cannot include a novel in that! it is not a creature of God, but a product of the devil, and so are all such things as that.
Rem So that the “promise of life” is in the knowledge of God day by day.
JT Quite. That is “the present one”; and “that to come” is eternal life. In chapter 6:12, Timothy is enjoined to lay hold of the latter. Having these things, we are well furnished.
Ques All this is brought to light in the gospel, is it not? The gospel brings to light life and [p. 315] incorruptibility.
JT Yes. To go on to chapter 6, we have in verse 3, “If any one teach differently, and do not accede to sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the teaching which is according to piety, he is puffed up, knowing nothing, but sick about questions and disputes of words, out of which arise envy, strife, injurious words, evil suspicions, constant quarrellings of men corrupted in mind and destitute of the truth, holding gain to be the end of piety. But piety with contentment is great gain”. This comes in under the subject of masters and servants, and, of course, bears on the whole question of trade unionism at the present time; and it is a question of the teaching that is according to piety, that we are to be sober in understanding the truth that enters into the relations of master and servant. The question of gain, higher wages, of course, fills the minds of the workers, but then, piety with contentment is better than that, better than higher wages — “piety with contentment is great gain”. It is to be noticed how much Scripture deals with industrial matters. Paul at Corinth lodged with persons who were of the same trade as himself. Why should that be mentioned were it not that there is a suggestion of those who labour in the truth understanding conditions among workers, among the persons God may be about to call through the gospel? These conditions are important because they bear on the progress of their souls. That is in Acts 18, and in Acts 19 we have Demetrius, a silversmith — he is concerned about this matter, too. He is not a worker, as we say, he is evidently a master man, and he is making gain; through him a tumult comes up, showing how these trade matters affect the world against the testimony.
On the one hand, the servant working for God understands current trade conditions; and, on the other hand, we see how men that are in business making money may turn the world upside down in order to keep their trade going. We have to watch all these things, especially if we are employers, that we are [p. 316] concerned not to make money, but to have right conditions, that is, conditions suitable for the testimony, and to suffer, if that seems to cut across our moneymaking. So here the apostle speaks about these masters and servants; he says, “Let as many bondmen as are under yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and the teaching be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren; but let them the rather serve them with subjection, because they are faithful and beloved” (1 Timothy 6:1,2).
AMH Teaching according to piety would involve the question as to whether you can bring God into the thing. It would be a terrible thing to link the name of God with these associations, and if we, as being part of the house of God, enter into them, I suppose that is what we are doing.
JT Well, it is a great question today, and I believe the brethren will have to face it, and face it as it is, and see whether piety is compatible with it, whether what I hold about these matters is according to piety.
Ques Would Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, “Be a model of the believers” (1 Timothy 4:12), involve every circle of the sphere in which he would move?
JT That is a good suggestion, that there is some brother in the town or district that is a model, so that you are not dependent only on the teaching, but there is a man who represents the thing taught. And of course that comes home to every one of us.
Ques Do you make any distinction between piety here and when the apostle says, “All indeed who desire to live piously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”, (2 Timothy 3:12)?
JT “In Christ Jesus” I think alludes to status, that I am outside the world in it; that is the attitude of my mind. Piety in Christ Jesus lifts me outside the world.
[p. 317] Rem I wondered whether it had any reference to our position in the testimony.
JT It clearly has. The point there is that you will suffer persecution, it may be from your wife or your children — more likely from the nearest to you if such are not spiritually minded, for it is a question of the attitude of your mind. You are living in an out-of-the-world condition of things. Unspiritual people do not like that.
Ques Was not the apostle Paul a model when he said to the Philippians, “My God shall supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19)?
JT “My God”. A touching phrase. Then there is one other thought, that is, the “man of God” (chapter 6:11). “But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and pursue righteousness, piety, faith, love, endurance, meekness of spirit”. We touch here a term that is more frequently used in the Old Testament than in the New; it is hardly used in the New at all, except here, although the thought is there of what a man of God is. Here is one called that: “thou, O man of God”, as if the apostle’s feelings are in it.
AJG Do you see in Paul at the end the effect of a man of God having followed piety, when he says he had learned in whatever circumstances he was to be content?
JT I think that is as good an expression of the thing as you could get.
AJG In that way piety would be a great support to the testimony, developing the ability to stand in it according to God.
JT “But my God shall supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19). One is restful as in one’s circumstances, what one eats and drinks and wears. What has struck one about Philippians is that the greatest servant knew how to be hungry; he experienced it, and it was all for good, but he says, “My God shall abundantly supply all your need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
[p. 318] So that at all times you are in the realm of God’s riches in glory.
Ques Would piety, in the main, have the effect of balancing us so that we do not go too far one way or the other?
JT I think so. Bringing God in certainly will act as a balance.