Text -- 1 Timothy 4:1-8 (NET)

Timothy’s Ministry in the Later Times

4:1 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings, 4:2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. 4:3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4:4 For every creation of God is good and no food is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 4:5 For it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer. 4:6 By pointing out such things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, having nourished yourself on the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 4:7 But reject those myths fit only for the godless and gullible, and train yourself for godliness. 4:8 For “physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ti 4:1

¹ tn Or “desert the faith by occupying themselves.”

² tn Grk “teachings of demons” (speaking of the source of these doctrines).

NET Notes: 1Ti 4:2

¹ tn Grk “in the hypocrisy of liars.”

² tn Or “branded.” The Greek verb καυστηριάζω (kausthriazw) can be used to refer either to the cause (“brand”) or the effect (“seared”).

sn Consciences are seared. The precise meaning of this phrase is somewhat debated. Three primary interpretations are (1) the consciences of these false teachers are “branded” with Satan’s mark to indicate ownership, (2) their consciences are “branded” with a penal mark to show they are lawbreakers, or (3) their consciences have been “seared” (i.e., totally burnt and desensitized) so that they are unable to notice the difference between right and wrong. See G. W. Knight, Pastoral Epistles (NIGTC), 189.

NET Notes: 1Ti 4:4

¹ tn Grk “nothing.”

NET Notes: 1Ti 4:6

¹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

² sn By pointing out…you have followed. This verse gives a theme statement for what follows in the chapter about Timothy’s ministry. The situation in Ephesus requires him to be a good servant of Christ, and he will do that by sound teaching and by living an exemplary life himself.

NET Notes: 1Ti 4:7

¹ sn Those myths refer to legendary tales characteristic of the false teachers in Ephesus and Crete. See parallels in 1 Tim 1:4; 2 Tim 4:4; and Titus 1:14.

² tn Grk “the godless and old-wifely myths.”

NET Notes: 1Ti 4:8

¹ tn Grk “bodily training” (using the noun form of the verb “train” in v. 7b).