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Scripture Reading: 4:1, 1 Tim. 4:7-8; 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:7, 14; 4:22; Titus 3:5-7; Philem. 10, 16, 25
Many people consider the two Epistles to Timothy and the one to Titus to be the “pastoral” Epistles, the books intended to teach certain ones how to “pastor” a church. These books do tell us something about how to take care of a church, but if we spend the time to get into their depths, we will see that this is not their basic thought. The basic thought of these three books is the exercise unto godliness. First Timothy 4:7 and 8 say, “The profane and old-womanish myths refuse, and exercise yourself unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the present life and of that which is to come.” Godliness is a key word in these books (2:2; 3:16; 6:3, 5-6, 11; 2 Tim. 3:5; Titus 1:1). The word exercise in Greek corresponds to the English word gymnastics. Just as people exercise in gymnastics for the sake of their body, we need to exercise ourselves unto godliness. Therefore, the Spirit in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus is the Spirit for the exercise unto godliness.
First Timothy 3:16 says, “Confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, / Justified in the Spirit, / Seen by angels, / Preached among the nations, / Believed on in the world, / Taken up in glory.” In the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, the Spirit is mentioned for the first time in this verse, a verse related to godliness. Godliness is God manifested in the flesh, that is, God expressed in human beings. That the man Jesus was God manifested in the flesh was justified, proved, and vindicated only in the Spirit. The Spirit constantly vindicated that Jesus was not an ordinary man but one in whom God was manifested (Matt. 3:16-17; 12:28; Rom. 1:3-4). In the same principle, whenever we are not doing things in a way that expresses God, the Spirit condemns, but when we exercise ourselves unto godliness to walk and live in a way that expresses God, the Spirit justifies, vindicates, that we have godliness. This vindication is not only within ourselves but in the hearts of those who observe our saintly walk and life of godliness.
There is no need to proclaim that we manifest God in the flesh or to try to prove that our life and walk is one of godliness. The Spirit justifies, vindicates, and proves this for us. We may do things that are very good, but they are not God Himself. We may love people or show patience, but our love and patience may not be God; they may only be good. On the other hand, we may have a love that is not merely good but is God Himself. Likewise, our patience may give people the impression not merely that we are good but that we are living out God. We cannot explain how we know this, but within us there is something that vindicates, justifies, or proves. The sense and realization that we have by the vindicating Spirit within tell us whether someone’s love is good or whether it is God Himself. Sometimes when a brother loves us, we have the deep sense that this love is not merely something good. Rather, this brother’s love is the expression, the manifestation, of God. The brother is a human being in the flesh, but his love is the expression of God; it is in godliness, God manifested in the flesh.
It is the same with humility. The submission that a sister shows to her husband may seem good, but in actuality it may be with a poor attitude. In such a case, the Spirit indicates that this submission is of herself and not the expression of God. We cannot explain with mere words how we sense that something good is actually poor and out of ourselves. This can be compared to our sense of taste, by which we know what is sweet and what is salty. The Spirit within us is the vindicating Spirit, always vindicating whether or not we live in godliness. By this Spirit we can realize whether or not our love, humility, submission, patience, and goodness are God Himself. This is the meaning of “justified in the Spirit.” The Spirit is constantly vindicating what is of God and what is merely out of ourselves.
We may come to a brother to say something good to him, but deep within us we will have the sense that our words are simply from our self; they are not the expression of Christ or the manifestation of God. In this case we do not have godliness but merely a kind of human, but still sinful, morality. The vindicating Spirit proves whether or not we are exercising unto godliness. If we are, the vindicating Spirit will confirm that we are right; otherwise, the Spirit will condemn and protest that we are acting, living, and doing things to express ourselves.
When we love others or submit to them, we may love and submit only for our own glory. No one can tell us this; only the Spirit can vindicate. Brother Watchman Nee once told me, “People can deceive us, but they can never deceive the Spirit.” If we are not persons in the Spirit, we can be cheated by others, but if we have the Spirit and are in the Spirit, we cannot be cheated. The more someone loves us, the more we may realize that this love is not godliness, the manifestation and expression of God. Rather, we may sense a wrong motive in this kind of love. The searching Spirit vindicates whether or not we are persons living in the Spirit. In the matter of godliness, He vindicates what is within us, and He vindicates what is in others.
First Timothy 4:1-2 says, “The Spirit says expressly that in later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons by means of the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, of men who are branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron.” Here Paul does not say “the Holy Spirit”; he simply says “the Spirit.” Many times in the New Testament this term denotes not only the Spirit Himself but the Spirit mingled with our human spirit. The Spirit in verse 1 is the speaking Spirit, the Spirit who mingles with our spirit and always speaks.
Here the Spirit’s speaking is an express, distinct warning concerning those who depart from the faith. For someone’s conscience to be branded as with a hot iron means that they have given up the feeling in their conscience; that is, their conscience has lost its function. In this way, the speaking Spirit warns against ungodliness. To depart from the faith, to give heed to deceiving spirits and teachings of demons, and to speak lies in hypocrisy are all ungodliness. The vindicating Spirit speaks to warn us not to pay attention to anything other than godliness. Therefore, the vindicating Spirit in this verse is the speaking and warning Spirit. The Spirit for our exercise unto godliness is not only the vindicating Spirit but also the warning Spirit. Moreover, His speaking is not outside of us; it is an inner speaking, the speaking of the Spirit mingled with our spirit. The Spirit within our spirit warns us to be on the alert, because in the latter days there will be many things contrary to godliness.
Second Timothy 1:14 says, “Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” God has deposited a precious treasure in us, just as we deposit something valuable in a bank. According to the two Epistles to Timothy, this good deposit is the Triune God with all that He has. God has deposited Himself in Christ through the Spirit into us as a treasure. Second Corinthians 4:7 says that this treasure is in earthen vessels. The deposit is a treasure, but the “bank” is worthless and fragile. Therefore, we need to guard the deposit through the Holy Spirit. By ourselves we are not adequate to guard this good deposit, but the Spirit is capable. The Holy Spirit, the Holy One who dwells in us, is the guarding Spirit. This guarding is for our exercise unto godliness. The Spirit, the Holy One, has brought God into us as the good deposit. Now it is He, not ourselves, through whom we guard this deposit.
According to the Epistles to Timothy, the good deposit is not only the Triune God but also the teaching related to the Triune God. All the proper, healthy teachings are included in this good deposit (1 Tim. 1:10; 2 Tim. 4:3). If we guard the deposit of the Triune God and the healthy teaching, we will know how to minister to others so that they also may realize the Triune God as their good deposit (1 Tim. 4:6).
The above three aspects of the Spirit — justifying, speaking, and guarding — are all for our exercise unto godliness. The Holy Spirit vindicates godliness. He also warns against ungodliness and guards all the things related to godliness. Therefore, it is by Him that we exercise unto godliness. Moreover, for this exercise we need not only the vindicating, speaking, and guarding Holy Spirit but also our regenerated human spirit. Second Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and of love and of sobermindedness.” This is our human spirit with all three parts of the soul under its control. Our spirit, which is at the center of our being, is surrounded by the soul with its three parts — the mind, emotion, and will. In order for the spirit to be released, these three parts must be subdued by the spirit. Then the spirit will become a spirit of power with the will under its control, a spirit of love with the emotion under its control, and a spirit of sobermindedness with the mind under its control. This is a normal and strong spirit. It is not by the Holy Spirit only but also by such a regenerated and renewed human spirit that we exercise ourselves unto godliness to manifest God and express Christ.
Verse 22 of chapter 4 says, “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.” We are able and qualified to exercise ourselves unto godliness because God has given us a wonderful, strong, and normal spirit — a spirit of power, love, and sobermindedness with Christ in it. Such a spirit is mingled with the Holy Spirit, who is constantly vindicating, warning, and guarding. Because we have these divine, rich, powerful, and adequate provisions, it is not only possible but even easy for us to exercise unto godliness. There is no excuse for not exercising ourselves unto godliness. By these two spirits — the Holy Spirit with our spirit — we can fulfill God’s economy (1 Tim. 1:4).
Titus 3:5-7 says, “Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, in order that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” God has given us the Spirit, the Holy One, and has poured out this Spirit upon us with the purpose that we may be heirs of the eternal life according to our hope, that is, that we may enjoy the eternal life as our inheritance. Today we are enjoying this life as a foretaste, and in the future we will enjoy this life as the full taste.
The Holy Spirit is continually doing a work to renew us. According to the thought of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, this renewing work of the Holy Spirit has much to do with the exercise unto godliness. In order to exercise ourselves unto godliness, we need to realize the renewing work of the indwelling Spirit. The indwelling Spirit is always working to renew us, and under this renewing we are able to exercise ourselves unto godliness.
Titus 3 speaks not only of the renewing of the Holy Spirit but also of the washing of regeneration. The word for washing in Greek is the word for laver, the vessel in the temple that contained the washing water. Regeneration here does not have the same meaning as being born anew in John 3:3. Here the word refers to a change from one state to another. It is a kind of reconditioning, remaking, or remodeling with life. To rebuild a typewriter or remodel a house does not involve life, but the change in condition produced by regeneration requires life. In John 3 life comes into us when we are born again, but in Titus 3 this new life reconditions, remakes, and reconstructs us into a new condition. We all need to be reconditioned, reconstructed, and remade by this new life. This renewing and reconditioning of the Holy Spirit are for our exercise unto godliness. The more we are renewed, reconditioned, and remodeled, the more we express Christ and manifest God; that is, the more we have godliness.
By all that we have said above, we can see that the Epistles to Timothy and Titus are not for us to “pastor” a church. Rather, they are for us to exercise ourselves unto godliness. God’s commission and good deposit are not for “pastoring.” They are for us to exercise a strong spirit, which is indwelt by Christ, trusting in the Spirit who justifies, warns, guards, renews, and reconditions. By this Spirit with our regenerated spirit we can exercise unto godliness, imparting and ministering life to others. First Timothy 4:6 says, “If you lay these things before the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, being nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have closely followed.” These things refer to the things related to godliness. A good minister of Jesus Christ is not taught with theology in order to be a pastor of a church. Instead, he is nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching. We need to drop the thought of “pastoring” and be filled with the thought of being good ministers of Christ who are nourished in the word. If we are nourished in this way, we will be able to exercise unto godliness.
In the book of Philemon, Onesimus was a purchased bondslave who ran away from Philemon, his master. After being captured, he was put into prison with the apostle Paul, and while there, he was saved. This slave became a spiritual child of the apostle Paul and a dear brother in Christ. When Paul realized that he was the slave of Philemon, his fellow worker, Paul instructed Onesimus to return in peace with this Epistle to his master, with the hope that Philemon would forgive him and also receive him no longer only as a slave but also as a brother (vv. 10, 16).
In the ancient times a master had the authority to put an escaped slave to death. However, this slave had now become a brother through the apostle who had brought Philemon to the Lord (v. 19) and who was writing to urge Philemon to accept this slave as a dear brother. This required much grace on the part of Philemon. Therefore, the last verse of this Epistle says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (v. 25). Paul seemed to be saying, “Philemon, I am asking you not only to forgive him but to receive him back as a dear brother. I know that this is difficult for anyone to do, but I commend you to this good word: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. You cannot do this in your flesh or soul, but if you turn to the spirit, grace will be there as the all-inclusive supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. By this grace you will be more than able to do what I ask. This grace is infinite, unlimited, and without measure, and it can accomplish anything. I, Paul, have learned the lesson and secret that I can do all things in this grace. Although I have charged you to do something difficult, His grace is sufficient for you.”
If a master in the church life can receive his slave as a brother, then he can receive anyone, regardless of their background, situation, condition, or stage of life. This is our need in the church life. In the church there is no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free man, but Christ is all and in all (Col. 3:11). To say this is easy, but to practice it is not. According to a careful study of the Bible and of history, Philemon lived in Colossae, and the church there met in his home (Philem. 2; cf. Col. 4:17; Philem. 10; cf. Col. 1:2; 4:9). This means that in the church meeting Philemon might sit side by side with Onesimus. There was no such custom in the churches that masters sat on one level in the meetings but slaves sat on another. Both the masters and the slaves came together as brothers and sat side by side. This is the proper way of the church life. Therefore, the church life requires an all-sufficient grace. If by grace a master can sit with a slave as a dear brother, then there is nothing he cannot do. We can do all things by the grace in our spirit, which is the all-inclusive Christ for us to have a proper church life. This short Epistle to Philemon is a strong proof of what we can enjoy in the church life by grace.
