Every Creature of God Is Good; a Good Minister of Christ (1 Timothy 4:3–7)

1 Tim. 4:3. Which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

Having indicated certain subjects of the false teaching, holy Paul immediately refutes its groundlessness—briefly but decisively—dwelling his attention, however, only on the last point: the prohibition of foods. The first matter—the prohibition of marriage—he does not deem worthy of attention, probably because its absurdity is self-evident to everyone: for if it were generalized, it would lead directly to the extinction of the human race. Ambrosiaster writes: “they do not grieve that they were born, yet they prohibit marriage”—thereby showing themselves to be misanthropes. Perhaps the Apostle also passed over this subject of the false teaching because it was only just beginning to emerge, coming forward timidly, whereas the error regarding the use of foods was already circulating openly through the Churches—introduced, however, by the Judaizers in a different sense than by these Ephesian false teachers. It is on this that the Apostle presses, leaving the former aside. Holy Chrysostom notes incidentally that “the Apostle acted thus because he did not wish to plant prematurely in the souls of believers the idea about that (that marriage is impure); but he refutes only what had already begun, namely the error concerning food.”

He refutes it by pointing to the purpose for which foods were created: “which God created to be received.” God implanted in human nature, as something animal, the need for food, and around man among the creatures He scattered those which can satisfy this need by being eaten. He permitted this already in paradise; He confirmed it at the expulsion from it and extended it in the commandments and blessings given to righteous Noah after the flood. God arranged it thus so that human beings, seeing in His preparation of the food they need around them a sign of His providential care for them, might acknowledge His solicitude and partake of food “with thanksgiving.” This thanksgiving was meant to nourish religious feelings toward God and, in the points of belief about God, to illuminate His countenance with bright, attractive, and stirring features. Thus in this seemingly most simple act—the eating of food—God placed the most instructive and at the same time unceasing school of faith and godliness. — The false teachers, however, by suggesting that there are foods which make a person unclean, perverted this divine order and diverted people from God’s intention in granting to man the need for food and the food itself: they cast a kind of darkness over God’s creation and silenced this unceasing school of right knowledge of God and the feelings due to Him. It is evident that they are impious: “they prompted evil thoughts about the Creator of man and, by suggesting that there are impure foods worthy of revulsion, disposed people to believe that they have another creator—one who is not good” (Ambrosiaster).

Thus, with this brief reminder of the purpose of the creation of foods, the Apostle sufficiently exposed the groundlessness of the false teaching about them. But of course such a refutation could be comprehensible and convincing only to those who have a living religious sense and sound concepts of God. This is why holy Paul added: “by those who believe and know the truth.” He did not say this in the sense that God created foods for the use of such people only, but in the sense that such people eat them in accordance with God’s intention in creating them—that is, they partake of them with thanksgiving. Since he was writing to those who believe and know the truth, his words conveyed this: you, who believe and know the truth, by partaking of foods with thanksgiving, accurately and fully fulfill God’s intention in creating them; your thanksgiving hallows every food; partake of it then, with no doubting, and do not yield to the confusion that the false speakers wish to plant in you by claiming that there are impure foods. The Apostle’s words may be paraphrased thus: those (foods) which God created so that believers might receive them with thanksgiving, doubting nothing. Of unbelievers there is not a word; they partake of food without any good thoughts—merely to eat and take pleasure, like unclean animals. They, if one is to distinguish pure and impure foods, make even pure foods impure by their ungrateful hearts and by the mere sensual gratification of the throat and belly. “Foods are impure for one who partakes of them without thanksgiving and praise to the Creator” (Ambrosiaster).

One might ask: is the enjoyment of food then forbidden? Enjoyment naturally accompanies the eating of pleasant food; but in those who receive it with feelings of thanksgiving to God, the enjoyment loses its character of sensuality—it is spiritualized and hallowed. When people eat food to take pleasure in it, gratifying the flesh in desire, they show themselves to be sunk in sensuality; but when they receive food in satisfaction of an unavoidable need, with thanksgiving, then they feel its sweetness without becoming sensual. The lifting of the mind and heart to God in this makes even the sweetness itself somehow detached and de-materialized. Such people receive food but do not indulge the flesh in it. The word for eating, μεταληψις,—reception, partaking. Oecumenius writes: “See how with the word μεταληψις the Apostle has expelled indulgence, τρυφην? Μεταληψις denotes a moderate receiving of food.” “Μεταληψις,” Theophylact writes, “preserves moderation; τρυφη knows no measure. Yet even the enjoyment of food is not unclean in itself, but because it weakens the soul of those who surrender to it” (both drawing from holy Chrysostom).

By “truth” in the words “knowing the truth” is meant the Christian faith—the only one that contains true and sound views of all that exists. Into this is also comprehended the truth concerning foods: that they should be received with thanksgiving in moderate satisfaction of the body’s need. Those who view the matter thus act in this regard with full conviction that they are acting rightly, in accordance with God’s will. Such conviction imparts brightness and holiness even to the simple act of eating food, and surrounds it with a certain special sense. Or perhaps here is prefigured “that truth of which mention will be made directly, namely that every creation of God is good” (blessed Theophylact).

1 Tim. 4:4. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.

There he adduced an argument from the moral-religious order; now he takes up the matter from the side of dogma. Everything that came from God’s creative hands is good. Every food designated for human eating is likewise good. Consequently, those false speakers lie when they forbid certain foods on the grounds that they are supposedly impure. Nothing is impure in itself; all is good and fit—that is, may be used as food without scruple. “The words ‘every creature of God is good’ the Apostle borrowed from the Mosaic Scripture. ‘And God saw,’ it is written, ‘all that He had made: and behold, it was very good’ (Gen. 1:31). And what is good, when ‘received with thanksgiving’ in remembrance of God, proves to be holy” (blessed Theodoret). “By the expression ‘every creature of God’ the Apostle here means what may be used as food. If all such things are God’s creatures, then they are good: for ‘all things were very good’” (holy Chrysostom).

“Nothing is to be rejected”—nothing edible should be rejected, nothing treated with disgust or loathing as impure and contrary to God; on the contrary, everything of the sort should be received as a benefaction and gift from the hand of the Lord. This is why it must be received with thanksgiving. Whoever receives edible foods with thanksgiving—for them all foods are pure and holy, by virtue of that very thanksgiving. “Thanksgiving purifies everything; but the ungrateful person is himself impure and defiled” (blessed Theophylact). “Ingratitude makes even what is clean unclean. That disposition is impure which does not give thanks to God” (holy Chrysostom). “To the pure all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure” (Tit. 1:15).

1 Tim. 4:5. For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

“Is sanctified by the word of God”—may be understood thus: “is sanctified”—has been sanctified once and for all—“by the word of God”—by that word which God spoke at the completion of creation, that “all things are good.” By this word everything, including all that is edible, is declared and offered as holy. Therefore it should be received with a blameless conscience—as clean and holy—with full conviction and without the least doubt. Or else—“is sanctified” now, at the hour of eating, and is sanctified “by the word of God”—by the invocation of the name of God; so that “and prayer” merely explains “the word of God.” The invocation of God’s name and the turning to God in prayer makes holy every food received by one who receives it in this spirit. But why is there need of a special sanctification, when, as was said above, every food is good and none is to be rejected? One may answer thus—that this only indicates how the condition is fulfilled under which, according to God’s determination, nothing is to be rejected—namely: the lifting of grateful feelings to God for the gift of foods, with a petition for His blessing to receive the food set before one. Whoever receives food in this way enters the ranks of those for whom everything received as food is holy and clean.

Or perhaps holy Paul is here making a kind of concession: let us grant, suppose, that there is something impure; but even such a thing is all sanctified when you invoke the name of God. So holy Chrysostom: “If ‘all things are good,’ what does it mean: ‘is sanctified by the word and prayer?’ For evidently what is sanctified is regarded as impure. — These words must not be understood in that way. Here the Apostle speaks against those who considered certain foods to be something defiling. Therefore he sets forth two main thoughts: first, that there is no creature that is defiling; and second—that if something were defiling, you have a remedy against it: make the sign of the cross, give thanks, render glory to God—and all impurity will disappear. — What then, you will say, can even food offered to idols be cleansed in this way? (Yes; but only) when you do not know that it is food offered to idols; whereas if you know it and partake of it nonetheless, you will become impure—not because it is food offered to idols, but because, having received the commandment not to partake with demons, you entered into communion with them by doing so. Therefore, (food offered to idols) is not impure by its nature, but becomes such through your volition and disobedience. — What then? Is swine’s flesh not impure? Not at all, when you eat it with thanksgiving and with the sign of the cross; and in the same way everything else is not impure. It is the disposition that is impure—the disposition that does not give thanks to God.” The same in Theophylact and Oecumenius.

In these words of the Apostle one can see the beginning of the prayers before and after meals, as well as of the sacred readings during the course of the meal.

Dd) The duty of arming the faithful against false teaching (1 Tim. 4:6)

1 Tim. 4:6. In setting all this before the brethren, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ.

“All this”—what exactly? That which he had been speaking of from verse 15 of chapter 3 onward—that the Church is the pillar and ground of truth; that the great mystery of godliness, around which all other truths of the faith are grouped, is “God was manifested in the flesh”; that, holding firmly to this mystery and to every other truth proclaimed by the Church, one must reject everything inconsistent with it—both what already exists now and what is to appear later—as demonic teaching; and in particular, the teaching that one ought not to marry and ought to abstain from certain foods as impure (holy Chrysostom, Oecumenius, blessed Theophylact).

“In setting before,” υποτιθεμενος,—in proposing. “Do you see that here he shows no exercise of authority, but only condescension? ‘In setting before’—he says. He did not say: commanding; he did not say: enjoining; but: ‘setting before’—that is, as it were advising: propose this and engage in discourse about the faith” (holy Chrysostom). This concerns the manner of instructing the flock; but the instruction itself lies upon the shepherd as an inseparable duty, from which if he withdraws or which he fulfills without zeal, he is already not what he ought to be according to the intention of the Lord who instituted the pastorate in the Church. This the Apostle impresses by saying immediately after: “you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ.” In setting this before them, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ; by not setting it before them, you will be a poor minister—an unprofitable servant. He is called “minister,” διακονος, because his duty is not to rule and to glory, but faithfully to “carry out what is commanded and to transmit to fellow believers the Master’s instructions” (blessed Theodoret). And minister “of Jesus Christ”—because the pastorate derives from the Lord Jesus Christ, and every shepherd receives ordination from the hand of the Lord through the hands of fellow-shepherds. Therefore, while labouring in the tending of the flock, he ought to hold in mind and heart that he serves not himself or men but the Lord—carrying out His work and fulfilling His will. In this passage, only one aspect of the good service of a shepherd is indicated—service through the word. “He serves the Lord well, teaching those he shepherds what Christ wishes them to be taught” (Oecumenius). From the flow of the discourse it is evident that this aspect of service is fulfilled not only by proclaiming the pure truth, but also by rejecting impure teachings—and not only by rejecting those impure teachings that are current, but by foreseeing those that are to appear and preparing the flock to repel them. But even this last cannot be better accomplished than by full exposition and impressing upon the minds of believers the pure truth—the pattern of sound words. “What can be more prudent and protective for the flock than to have Christian doctrine taught to it—completely and uncorrupted—so that, having taken firm root in the Lord’s field, it might bear fruit abundant and lasting, such as even on the day of judgment would endure the test of fire and not be burned by it. Such is the duty of a good teacher and faithful minister of Christ” (Ambrosiaster).

C) On the self-formation of the shepherd (1 Tim. 4:6–10)

While holding the truth of God and rooting it in the minds and hearts of his flock, the shepherd must not forget himself either, but, attending to himself, must build himself up and set himself in order—both: aa) in knowledge (1 Tim. 4:6, 7), and: bb) in true godliness (1 Tim. 4:7–10).

Aa) In knowledge (1 Tim. 4:6, 7)

1 Tim. 4:6. Nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed.

The shepherd’s good service to the Lord in setting truth before the flock and protecting it from demonic teachings—the Apostle places under the condition of the shepherd’s own nourishment by the words of faith and good doctrine. In acting thus in this matter of instructing the flock, he says, you will be a good minister, drawing the power to do so from nourishing yourself with the truth. If the shepherd is obliged to act as prescribed, he is obliged to fulfill the condition for the prescribed proper action. Therefore “nourished” carries the meaning as if it were said: nourish yourself as well. The force of the Apostle’s word here lies in the word “nourished.” “Not only instruct others, but also exercise yourself in this” (holy Chrysostom). “It befits you above all others to apply yourself diligently to spiritual doctrine and to be enriched by it” (blessed Theodoret). “He said: propose this to others. Now he says: but also let yourself be nourished (by the same truths), turning them over in your mind and as it were chewing on them. For, urging unceasing attention to them, he said: ‘nourished’” (blessed Theophylact). That is, “feeding spiritually on them as food: for ‘man shall not live by bread alone’ (Matt. 4:4). You must not only propose this to the brethren but nourish yourself thereby” (Oecumenius). “Nourished,” he says, pointing to constant attention to subjects of this kind. For, just as we take this (bodily) food every day, so must the word of faith always be received and always be fed upon. “What does ‘nourished’ mean? Chewing on it, constantly repeating (in the mind) one and the same thing, always meditating on the same thing” (holy Chrysostom).

“The words of faith” are the good news of the Gospel, encompassing the entire incarnate economy—constituting our faith and received and held by faith. This is also “the good doctrine”—as coming from a good source, as being of good quality in itself, and as beneficial now to those who receive it and leading them to a good end. But it seems the Apostle had in mind to fix attention above all on the words: “which you have followed.” You already know it and hold it firmly with your whole soul. Nourish yourself with what you already hold, renewing it in your consciousness by recollection and quickening it in your heart with sympathy and love for it. But this comes of itself. The Apostle’s exhortation goes further: nourish yourself with that doctrine which you already hold; but do not run after any new kind, and on the contrary reject it at once, as something alien, as soon as you hear it. What has been entrusted to you—hold; from what has not been entrusted, coming from elsewhere, turn away your ear and attention.

1 Tim. 4:7. But reject profane and old wives’ fables.

“Profane,” βεβηλους,—vulgar, things to be avoided with disgust. The Apostle recalls what he said at the beginning of the Epistle: “nor to give heed to fables and endless genealogies” (1 Tim. 1:4)—that is, to the circulating empty discourses and teachings of the false speakers. Neither there nor here does he specify what these fables consist of—perhaps because they were not worth mentioning, or because, since the norm of truth is known, everything foreign to it was of itself determined and known to holy Timothy. He speaks generally only to encourage rejection and resistance. Our commentators, however, consider that here the Apostle has in mind Jewish persuasions—or that part of Judaism which entered into the composition of the teachings of the false speakers. Theodoret writes: the Apostle called the Jewish teachings “old wives’ fables”—“not the Law, but the deceitful misinterpretation of the Law and its untimely observance.” Holy Chrysostom gives the reason for this name: “What fables does he mean here? Jewish computations and observances? Does he call these fables? Yes—either because they are fabricated, or because they are out of season. What is seasonable is beneficial. But what is only temporal is not only not beneficial but harmful. — Moreover, consider: if a man of twenty years of age were to cling to the nurse’s breast, how greatly would he be deserving of mockery for being out of season? You see that he calls this both profane and womanish. He calls it so partly because it is already old, and partly because it is an obstacle to faith.”

But Oecumenius allows that perhaps the Apostle here has in mind also “the ravings of the Greeks and of the heretics of that time. For truly they resemble the empty words raved by old crones—such sayings, for example, as those of the Greeks: Zeus lay with Hera; Ares committed adultery with (Aphrodite); Hephaestus was hurled from heaven.”

It is very probable that the teachings of the false speakers were drawn in part from the Jews, in part from the Greeks, and in part from other Eastern religions. Since believers, in the very act of coming to faith, reject all of these—after coming to faith there is nothing more for them to occupy themselves with such things. This is why the Apostle does not write: refute—as if entering into controversy—but: “reject.” “By this he shows that one must definitively avoid them. His words have precisely this meaning: do not even take upon yourself the trouble of ever entering into conversation with them—except perhaps in the case when you foresee some harm from the fact that we, as if through our weakness, decline to converse with them” (holy Chrysostom).

Bb) In true godliness (1 Tim. 4:7–10)

1 Tim. 4:7. But train yourself in godliness.

By “godliness” the Apostle means life in the spirit of the Christian faith. Although this life encompasses not only the fitting relationship to God—which is godliness in the strict sense—but also all ascetic endeavours and the whole range of right action; yet since both these sides of it, or parts, are observed by Christians for the sake of God and are dedicated to Him, so that their “life” is wholly “hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3), the Apostle called all of life according to the faith godliness. “‘Train yourself in godliness’—that is, exercise yourself in pure faith and righteous life, dispose yourself toward the best conduct; for in this godliness consists” (holy Chrysostom). “It is the zealous care for a life pleasing to God, joined to right faith” (Oecumenius).

But what the Apostle wishes to impress here is summed up in the word “train yourself. Train,” γυμναζε,—exercise yourself in the deeds of Christian godliness, so as to become a skilled practitioner of them—as athletes exercise themselves in various bodily movements to acquire habit and skill in them. The body is capable of very dexterous movements, but it must be trained in them by exercises. So too the believer, after baptism and the reception of grace, is capable—that is, both ready and empowered—for every deed and endeavour in the spirit and according to the demands of the holy faith; but in order to do all this properly and fruitfully, one must exercise oneself in deeds of this kind. Yet the athlete first exercises in various bodily movements alone, by himself, only as practice—and these movements will serve him afterward in actual action; but the Christian athlete enters directly not into practice but into real deeds, and by their performance trains himself toward performing them ever better. Therefore “train yourself” means: do not let pass a single occasion on which you can do a deed in the spirit of your faith—or even more: seek out such occasions, so as to become more quickly established in the deeds of our faith and thereafter without difficulty show yourself before God and men as a “worker who does not need to be ashamed” (2 Tim. 2:15). Experience has already shown that such self-training is necessary for the attainment of perfection in life—and training that is comprehensive, both in how to conduct one’s outward affairs and behavior, and in how to keep in order the various inner movements that arise within. Zealous training in both is always crowned with success—that is, with a habit of life pleasing to God, both inward and outward. This perfection does not come of itself: one must train oneself. So for every believer, and all the more so for the shepherd of the faithful. Therefore it was not unnecessary to say to holy Timothy: “train yourself in godliness.”