Search
Scripture Reading: 1 Tim. 2:1-3, 8-14; 2 Tim. 2:22; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 4:6-7; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; 3:16; 1 Tim. 1:10; 6:3; 2 Tim. 1:13; Titus 1:9; 2:1
The two Epistles to Timothy speak in a particular way concerning praying and dealing with the word of God for the exercise of our spirit. First Timothy 2:1 through 3 says, “I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men; on behalf of kings and all who are in high position, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of our Savior God.” Verse 1 speaks of all kinds of prayer, including general prayers and special prayers for particular needs. These prayers should be made not only for one class of people but for all men. Verse 2 indicates that this prayer for all men is related to godliness. In order to exercise our spirit, we need to pray in many ways. Ephesians 6:18 says, “By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.” Prayer and petition must be made in the spirit. To pray in all these ways is the true exercise of the spirit and the real priesthood.
First Timothy 2:8 continues, “I desire therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and reasoning.” Sometimes we are unable to lift up our hands in prayer because they are not holy, separated unto God. To have holy hands requires the exercise of our spirit. Wrath is in the emotion, and reasoning is in the mind. To pray without wrath and reasoning requires that we exercise our spirit, not our natural emotion and mind. However, sometimes we exercise our mind and emotion much more than we exercise our spirit. To reason, question, and dispute is the exercise of the mind. If we would deny our natural mind, our reasonings will not trouble us. We will not care for questions; we will care only for praying in every place.
Questionings come from Satan as the serpent (Gen. 3:1). When a serpent rises up to strike, we may say that he takes the shape of a question mark. Satan as the serpent stirs up questions in the mind. The first time the serpent came to contact human beings was when he stirred up the mind of Eve in Genesis 3. He suggested something to Eve, causing her to exercise her mentality. For this reason, the apostle Paul did not allow women to teach with authority in the church. In 1 Timothy 2:8 Paul says simply that men should pray in every place. In the following verses, however, he instructs that the women also should pray, but he adds some further requirements. Verses 11 through 14 continue, “Let a woman learn in quietness in all subjection; but I do not permit a woman to teach or to assert authority over a man, but to be in quietness. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived; but the woman, having been quite deceived, has fallen into transgression.” Eve was deceived because she improperly exercised her mind. Because teaching requires the proper exercise of the mind, it is better for sisters simply to pray. The sisters do not have the ground to teach, because it requires the exercise of the mind; rather, they have the ground to pray, which is to exercise the spirit.
Several books of the New Testament contain teachings concerning prayer, but the Epistles to Timothy are unique to show the practice and practical instructions concerning prayer. Second Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” This verse does not encourage us to pursue with those who merely study the Bible for doctrinal learning. We need to come together not merely for teachings or study but to call on the Lord out of a pure heart. To pray by calling on the Lord is the real exercise of the spirit. In order to pray with every kind of prayer, intercession, petition, and thanksgiving on behalf of all men, to pray in every place lifting up holy hands, and to pray without wrath in our emotion or reasoning in our mind, we need to exercise our spirit.
We need the practice of prayer that is according to the instruction in 1 and 2 Timothy. If a brother speaks to us out of the reasonings of his mind, we should not respond with an answer, argument, or suggestion. We should simply say, “Brother, let us pray.” We should not exercise our natural mind over what he says. Rather, we need to exercise our spirit to bring his matters in prayer to the Lord. We should know only to contact the Lord by exercising our spirit. Then we should pursue the things that are pleasing to the Lord with all those who call on Him out of a pure heart. In order to exercise our spirit to minister as priests, we need to learn to pray in this way. I long to see the day when all the brothers do not care for discussing, debating, arguing, or even merely studying. Rather, whether in their homes, in the meeting hall, or in any place, they know only to pray. If we all practice this kind of prayer, we will have the real priesthood among us. Then we will see the move of the Lord in a powerful and prevailing way. The Lord is recovering the priesthood of prayer by the exercise of the spirit.
We should not exercise our natural mind to discuss, debate, argue, question, or doubt. Likewise, we should not have a wrathful emotion. We should do only one thing: pray with every kind of prayer, petition, intercession, and thanksgiving not only for one class of people but for all men. We are too indifferent concerning many things. How many times have we prayed for the President, the governor of our state, and the world situation? We need to pray that we may have the opportunity to lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness. However, I am not encouraging you to pray mainly for certain things. I am encouraging you to exercise your spirit. Whenever we come together, we should not talk too much. Sometimes this kind of talk is simply gossip. We should forget about everything else and simply pray. If we find ourselves speaking of people and families, we should immediately say, “Let us not talk anymore. Let us pray for them.” If we are concerned for a certain brother or sister, we should pray rather than talk. We must learn to pray. I long to see that one day on this earth there would be the church with many dear ones who do not gossip or merely talk but simply pray.
Today there is too much natural talk among the Lord’s children. Someone may ask, “How are things in Taiwan?” or “How is that brother?” or “How are his wife and mother-in-law?” After asking all these questions, he may go to spread the knowledge he has gained to others. No one is able to repeat what he hears exactly. He will either leave out something or add something, and eventually he will spread rumors. Then death will follow. This kind of talk deadens the spirit of the saints and the church. We must all learn the lesson to stop our talking. Our mouth was created by God not for talking in this way but for praying.
Gossip may be compared to myths. Paul uses the word myths several times in 1 and 2 Timothy. First Timothy 1:3 and 4 say, “Even as I exhorted you, when I was going into Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus in order that you might charge certain ones not to teach different things nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.” Verses 6 and 7 of chapter 4 say, “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. But the profane and old-womanish myths refuse, and exercise yourself unto godliness.” Second Timothy 4:4 says, “They will turn away their ear from the truth and will be turned aside to myths.” We must learn to refuse gossip, myths, and tales. These things only cause us to exercise our fallen, natural mind.
We should receive this word not as a mere teaching but as loving fellowship. I long to see that in the Lord’s recovery the church would be a group not of talking people but of praying people. Whenever we meet together, we should leave all our talking and always concentrate on praying. We should say, “Brothers and sisters, let us pray.” We should pray at every time in spirit for all men with every kind of prayer, petition, intercession, and giving of thanks, and we should do this with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. This is the proper way to exercise our spirit.
Second Timothy 3:16 is a unique passage among all the books of the New Testament. This verse says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” All the words of the Bible are God’s divine breathing. This is a matter of the Spirit in our spirit. Because the Word of God is not merely for teaching, we cannot fully apprehend it by exercising our mind. The mind is not sufficient. We need to exercise our spirit to apprehend the word, because the word is spiritual breath, the very breath of God. When we read the Word, we must learn how to breathe it in, not merely to understand it. It is a wrong concept that when we read the Word we mainly need to understand it. The word of God is spiritual food and drink (Matt. 4:4; 1 Pet. 2:2; Jer. 15:16; Psa. 119:103; Job 23:12; John 6:63). It is not necessary to understand food; we need only to eat it. The Bible is not mainly for our understanding. It is for us to breathe in.
First Timothy 1:10 speaks of things that are “opposed to the healthy teaching.” Something that is healthy is related to life. We can compare healthy teaching to today’s “health food.” Health food is not something for us to understand in our mind. It is for the health of our physical life. In the same way, the healthy teachings of the Bible are not firstly teachings for the mind but nourishment for the spirit. Verse 6 of chapter 4 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.” We are nourished with the words of the faith, not merely taught by them. There is a difference between being merely taught by the word and being nourished by the word. Many Christians are only taught by the word without being nourished. We must learn to be nourished by the word of God. The word must be healthy teaching to us, not merely “sound doctrine” for the mind. Healthy teachings are for our spiritual health.
Verse 3 of chapter 6 says, “If anyone teaches different things and does not consent to healthy words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the teaching which is according to godliness.” The living and healthy words, the words that are good for our spiritual health, are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching which is according to godliness. This is a matter of life, not of knowledge. Many in today’s Christianity speak of sound doctrine. It is not wrong to speak in this way but neither is it entirely right. We need the word that is healthy for life, not merely sound for our mind.
Second Timothy 1:13 says, “Hold a pattern of the healthy words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus,” and 4:3 says, “The time will come when they will not tolerate the healthy teaching; but according to their own lusts they will heap up to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” Those with itching ears care only to hear; they do not seek the healthy word, the word that nourishes the spiritual life and is good for spiritual health. Titus 1:9 says, “Holding to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching of the apostles, that he may be able both to exhort by the healthy teaching and to convict those who oppose,” and 2:1 says, “Speak the things which are fitting to the healthy teaching.” In the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, which are among the final writings of the apostle Paul, he stresses healthy words and healthy teaching. This is because at his time there were many who were teaching things that may have seemed to be good but were not healthy and did not minister life to others. This warns us to take care of our speaking. The word we speak must be healthy; it must minister life to others and be full of spiritual nourishment. The messages we give may pass on knowledge without nourishment. They may be sound but not healthy. What we need is the healthy word.
In order to have healthy teachings we must learn to exercise our spirit. If we exercise our mind when we listen to a message, we may admire the message as being an eloquent word with interesting illustrations from a good speaker. However, if we exercise our spirit, we may discern that the eloquent speaking and good illustrations are a worldly speaking without any life. Although another brother may have no eloquence and his utterance is awkward, we may sense that in his speaking there is the nourishing, ministering life. This latter speaking is not merely a “sound teaching”; it is a healthy word. If we come to the meetings to seek healthy teachings, we must exercise our spirit, not merely our mind.
We may discern and appreciate a message either in the mind or in the spirit. If we discern a message in our spirit, we will not care whether or not it is eloquent. We will care only that it ministers life and nourishment. Sometimes people appreciate a certain message simply because they are in the mind. They appreciate a good speaker that gives a good, eloquent message. However, there may be no life in that message. It may be “sound” but not healthy. In contrast, though, we have often seen certain brothers ministering in a very awkward way, but in their speaking we could sense life, nourishment, and something healthy.
We should seek the healthy word of the Bible, not merely sound doctrinal teaching. In order to apprehend something healthy from the Bible, we must learn to exercise our spirit. Whenever we read the Bible, we should pray with what we read and understand, receiving God’s word by means of all prayer (Eph. 6:17-18). To pray in this way is to exercise our spirit to touch the word of God. If we do this, we will receive not simply something for our mind but the healthy word for the nourishment of our spirit. As we saw in the previous chapters, in order to exercise our spirit we first need to deal with all our inward parts — our mind, emotion, will, heart, and conscience. Second, we need to pray with petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings to God, praying for all men and in every place without wrath or reasoning and with all those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Third, we need to deal with the word of God in order to take it as healthy food. Whether we read a spiritual book, listen to a message, or come to contact the Word of God directly, we must learn to exercise our spirit to receive something healthy for our spirit. We must learn to receive a healthy word, a word that is full of nourishment, not merely a sound or correct word. All day long we need the healthy word, just as our physical body needs healthy food.
Many Christians today are receiving only doctrinal teaching, not healthy food from the word. According to the medical doctors, the best way to have a long physical life is to exercise by walking and to eat properly. Every day we need to be nourished by the word as our healthy food and to exercise to “walk” spiritually (1 Tim. 4:6-7). We need to take care of the inward parts of our being, pray, and receive the healthy, nourishing word of God. This is the right way to exercise our spirit. This is dealt with in a clear, definite, and full way in the two Epistles to Timothy.
