For Teachers and Hearers - The Household of God - Part 14
For Teachers and Hearers
1 Timothy 4:11-16
Immanuel – 11/9/25
Last week you set some goals: grow and go goals. How did it go?
Paul loved Timothy. For about a decade, Timothy was Paul’s right-hand man. Timothy traveled with Paul throughout the Roman world proclaiming the gospel, making disciples, and planting churches. Sometimes Paul would send Timothy on special missions: to carry a message, to strengthen a church, to travel ahead as something like an advance party.
Paul also loved the Ephesian church. He planted the church and spent two years pastoring it. But after being away for some time, he received word that false teachers had infected his beloved Ephesian church. Unable to go himself, he sent his best, his right-hand man, on a pastoral rescue mission. Timothy went urgently to Ephesus.
Shortly afterward, likely from Corinth, Paul wrote Timothy this first letter; but the letter was just as much for the struggling Ephesian church. When Paul writes about elders, deacons, the expectations for prayer, and the demonic doctrines of the false teachers, he fully expects his words to be heard by the whole congregation – something important to remember with today’s text.
As I said, Timothy is on a rescue mission. His emergency pastoral work – as Paul says in verse 16 – is for the salvation of the whole church. It certainly sounds like Paul is saying the salvation of people’s souls depends upon Timothy’s faithfulness in preaching. As we shall see, there is something about preaching and pastoring that leads to the salvation of souls.
Preaching
This is why, from the very beginning, preaching has been a central element of the church.
Read vs 11
These things, mentioned at the end of verse 11, refer to the things Paul had just been talking about: things related to identity, mission, and threats. But perhaps the best summary of these things is found in 1:5.
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. -1 Timothy 1:5
The Greek word translated as charge in this verse is the same word translated as command in 4:11. The aim of our command is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith. All the commands of 1 Timothy are so love would abound.
Which means, for you and me, following Paul’s commands – proclaimed by Timothy – regarding elders, deacons, prayer, sound doctrine, gender roles, and the rest; creates the most hospitable environment for love in every heart and in every church. Because every believer and every church want love to abound, every pastor is authorized to issue Paul’s same commands, that love may abound!
Notice that! Timothy is not being authorized to issue whatever commands he wants. He is authorized to command the Ephesian church what Paul has commanded and what Scripture says. When Paul’s letter is read before the church, everyone can see where Timothy is getting his authority, and that Timothy’s commands are not arbitrary, but Apostolic – coming from Paul.
And isn’t the very same thing that I am practicing this morning? Any authority that comes from this pulpit is sourced in Paul’s apostolic commands. I don’t speak my own words, but I feed you with the words of Scripture.
But it is not just about issuing commands. With the commands must come teaching. Meaning, Timothy – and all pastors – must give instruction on why the commands are given, the theological motivations for the commands, and how to practically carry out the commands. Teaching is both explaining doctrine and applying it to everyday life.
Consider the ramifications that verse 11 – Command and teach these things – is itself a command. One thing is for sure, this is the main duty of pastors – to command and teach the word of God. Command connotes authority. Teach connotes patient instruction. Both of these come together in the activity of preaching, which I do now – a command of the apostolic Scriptures.
And if preaching is done as Paul commands, then one of its effects will be love – love that issues from a from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Read vs 12
Many think Timothy could have been in his late 20s or early 30s when Paul wrote this letter. In a culture that prized the wisdom of older people, it might appear like Timothy was presumptuously asserting himself as leader. The false teachers trying to control the Ephesian church, they certainly would want to demean Timothy for his youth and inexperience.
When I came to Immanuel, I was only 34. Meg and I were the youngest members at the time. I don’t recall the exact number, but the average age was something like 62. I often felt a bit strange pastoring a church of people, many of which could have been my parents or grandparents.
In those early days, I don’t know how many times I thought of 1 Timothy 4:12. Let no one despise you for your youth. It was not that I thought people were despising me – though I did get jabs about my youth or inexperience. But more than that, I felt like, “Who am I to be pastoring these people?” Let no one despise your youth also meant my youth did not make me inadequate. If Christ called me to this, he is my adequacy, providing strength and wisdom and grace for each day.
No one was to look down on Timothy for his youth, not even Timothy. And when this letter was read before the Ephesian church, as Paul expected, it would reinforce Timothy’s leadership. How good it is when an older leader has the back of a younger leader, when a mentor publicly supports his disciple!
Even still, Paul commanded Timothy to let no one despise him for his youth. How could Timothy possibly control whether or not people despised him? Paul explains: Instead of letting people despise you, set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. In other words, “Timothy, be godly and people will respect you.’ Timothy’s godly example would keep Ephesian opinions in check.
Timothy’s godliness was to be expressed in five ways. Though, Paul’s list is certainly not exhaustive.
In speech. The pastor who preaches and teaches needs to model godly speech, in the pulpit and out of it. After all, Jesus said it is out of the abundance of heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). A pastor’s speech should abound in love.
In conduct. A pastor needs to practice what he preaches. If his conduct does not match his speech, isn’t he just a hypocrite? Again, as Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46).
In love. If love is the aim of a pastor’s work, then the pastor ought to love. God is love, God so loved the world he sent his only Son, Jesus went to that cross in love, and he first loved us so that we would love. If a pastor is unloving, he is a living contradiction to the gospel and to God.
One evening while I was still in my 20s, I was gathered with a number of church leaders – leaders under my leadership. We were wrestling through some hard times, praying and trying to discern God’s will for the group we led. I’ll never forget what one of them said, “Fletch, if you love us, we will follow you.”
Despite youth, despite shortcomings, despite mistakes, a pastor’s love will authenticate his leadership.
In faith. Paul frequently links faith and love. In Galatians 5:6 Paul says the only thing that counts is faith working through love. Faith is the reason we Christians love. If, by faith, we understand Jesus’s great love for us, the love that held him to the cross – his love for us while we were his enemies, wretches, pitiable and broken; then how can we not love those around us – be they enemies, wretches, pitiable and broken? Faith perceives and embraces God’s love. Faith fills the heart with love, that love might flow.
In purity. So many churches have been thrown into chaos because of a pastor’s impurity. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). A church’s view of God will surely be clouded if its leaders are lost to their lusts.
Paul tells Timothy to set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. But isn’t this true of every believer. All of us, regardless of position or years in the faith, are to be godly in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. If this is true for all of us, then how much more so for the church’s leaders to set godly examples!
Read vs 13
Devote yourself. No half measures. No half-heartedness. Go all in. Full throttle. Total immersion. Give yourself entirely to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
Since Mount Sinai, God’s people have always been about the public reading of Scripture. The people of God are the people of the Book. It is interesting that even the Quran refers to Jews and Christians as the people of the book.
But the reading of Scripture alone was not enough. After it was read there was to be a time of exhortation and teaching. Exhortation simply means encouraging, inspiring, calling up and calling out. I’ve already said that teaching is both explaining doctrine and applying it to everyday life.
You might notice that ‘exhort and teach’ run parallel to ‘command and teach’ in verse 11. Commanding, exhorting, and teaching are all elements of preaching. Preaching commands the church to obey, exhorts/calls up to obey, and teaches how to obey and why we obey. And all of this comes from the authority, reliability, and profitability of God’s word. Again, preaching is commanding, exhorting, and teaching from Scripture.
And good preaching is filled with passion: passion for God’s word, passion for what Christ has done, passion for the spiritual growth of the church, passion for gospel proclamation. As one commentator writes, “A lukewarm minister is a self-contradiction.”1
All of you who listen to preaching, it is so important for you to understand this! Because we live in an age when preaching has left the pulpit. Sometimes it is story time with the pastor. Sometimes it’s a stand-up comedy routine, or gimmicks and flash. Sometimes it’s just the pastor’s ideas and opinions, or political commentary. Oftentimes, a verse is read, or a brief passage (because that’s what you’re supposed to do in church) and then the pastor barely comes back to the text. That’s not a preacher. That’s an inspirational speaker. (And if no one is inspired, then it’s just a waste of time.)
Here at Immanuel, as in every faithful church since Paul wrote Timothy, we practice expositional preaching. Expositional preaching focuses on exposing the meaning of a specific passage of Scripture in its original historical, grammatical, and literary context. As hearers, you should be satisfied with nothing less than expositional preaching.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. -2 Timothy 3:16-17
If God’s word is not the beating heart of preaching, flowing with commands, exhortations, and teachings, then the hearers will be spiritually malnourished. And this is exactly why we see so many unhealthy North American churches. Preaching is critical to the health of the church. More on this in a bit.
But bad “preaching” is not merely a threat in our day. The false teachers in Ephesus, teaching speculations and myths, had totally deviated from Scripture. They were a dangerous threat. If Timothy could not arrest them with biblical preaching, they would kill the church. This is why Paul commands Timothy to devote himself to scriptural exhortation and teaching.
This is also why Paul drops in three words, “Until I come.” Timothy already knew Paul will eventually return to Ephesus, otherwise Paul wouldn’t have announced it with only three words. These three words are more like a reminder to the church.
“The Apostle is coming and he will back up Timothy. Timothy is Paul’s man. So as Timothy devotes himself to preaching, we need to devote ourselves to listening and obeying him, while having nothing to do with the false teachings of demons (as Paul called it in 4:1).”
Additionally, Timothy’s gift to pastor, preach, and minister was bestowed by God the Spirit and confirmed by the church.
Read vs 14
The New Testament is unclear of what happened to Timothy regarding prophesy and the council of elders. We did consider this moment back when we were wrapping up chapter 1. It appears that early on in Timothy’s Christian life, the elders of the church recognized God had given him a special ministry gifting. In some sort of official moment, they gathered around Timothy, all laying their hands on him, and prophesied about God’s calling upon his life.
These prophecies represent God’s promise and assurance over Timothy. The elders are simply providing witness and affirmation regarding God’s gift and calling upon Timothy’s life. God has done it. The Elders affirm it. Timothy is meant to remember and be encouraged.
The Ephesian church is meant to remember it too. Timothy is not just Paul’s man; he is God’s man. False teachers were teaching demonic doctrines. Timothy was teaching God’s word. And Timothy was appointed by God and the Apostle to preach! He must immerse himself in what he has been called to do!
Read vs 15
Practice these things, immerse yourself in them. This adds no new information to what Paul has already said. He is to command, exhort, and teach in his preaching. He is to set a godly example. He is to practice the things Paul has written about. He is to immerse himself, or devote himself, to the practice of preaching. No new information so far.
But what is new is that Timothy is to practice and immerse himself in the work of ministry so that all may see your progress. From verse 12, we know Timothy is to set a godly example. He should expect the church to be watching him. But neither Timothy nor the church should expect Timothy to set a perfect example. He’s young and he’s human. Regardless of how gifted he is, if he remains devoted to Christ and his work, then there will be progression.
It’s true for every pastor. Hopefully you’ve seen a progression in me through the years. In Timothy, in me, in the other elders here, there should be visible growth. No growth means a lack of devotion. No growth means stagnation, apathy, spiritual unhealth.
Honestly, that’s true for all of us. If there is no spiritual growth in our lives, we should be asking some very serious questions. Often it is hard for us to see our own spiritual growth. Ask someone who knows you well. Likely, they’ll be better able to identify your areas of growth. If you dare, ask them what areas you could grow more in. And if that’s too scary a question to ask, then humility is probably your answer.
Progression is a sign of life. A preacher who is growing in his craft, an elder growing in godliness, a leader developing leadership skills, all of them growing in obedience to Christ; such progress is a sign of healthy leaders in a healthy church.
Read vs 16
Keep a close watch on yourself. Be rigorously self-aware. Don’t let yourself slip. Don’t let devotion atrophy. Don’t let your example become more worldly than godly. Don’t let your passion grow cold!
So many pastors let these things slip only to become a hollowed-out shell. Perhaps the performance continues for a while, but the flame is all burned out and the inside feels dead. Keep a close watch on yourself means never stop abiding in Christ! Even if feelings fleet away, or sufferings beat against you, lash yourself to Jesus! Watch that you cling to nothing else!
As Jesus said,
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” -John 15:4-5
Timothy is also to keep a close watch on his teaching. With false teaching constantly swirling around, the godly preacher is to ground his teaching in the unchanging, unshakable word of God. Any slight deviation now leads to devastating consequences later.
Persist in this means persevering in a godly life and godly teaching for by doing so you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Scripture is crystal clear: God is the one who saves us to the uttermost.
[God] saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.
-2 Timothy 1:9
God does all the saving. So Timothy’s preaching and example cannot save anyone. And yet, it is through the pastor’s example and preaching that people regularly hear of God’s salvation, the manifold applications for life, the countless ways we are transform, and our new identity and purpose in Christ.
Hearers, hear this: Preaching is a means of grace. Meaning, God massages saving grace into your spirit through preaching, week in and week out. Sometimes imperceptibly, sometimes dramatically, through the preaching of God’s word, the Holy Spirit is sowing salvation into your soul.
And this is such a profound reality, with eternal ramifications, that Jesus said, “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
-Luke 8:18
Jesus is the living stone upon which the church is built. He intends for all of his followers not to neglect meeting together (Hebrews 10:25). And from the beginning, the proclamation of Scripture is the centerpiece of church.
What should we know? A pastor devoted to expositional preaching and passionate about godliness is the apostolic pattern.
What should we believe? Good preaching is God’s way of massaging saving grace into your heart.
What should we do? Take care how you listen. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22).
1Yarbrough, R. (2018). The Letters to Timothy and Titus. Pg 252. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
