v1-2: See also Eph 6.5-8, regarding the way a slave should show respect to his master. The application today is to an employee. An employee should show proper respect to his employer. This honours God's Name. We are not to despise an employer simply because he is a Christian; he is a believer, and is to be beloved. He should serve him even better. There is, of course, great blessing in a Christian working for another Christian.

v3: Sound instruction and godly teaching centre on the Lord Jesus Christ, in all His fullness of character, His full deity, His perfect humanity. Teaching which detracts from Him, or even degrades Him, must be avoided. True teaching is according to godliness, it promotes holy living.

v4-5: Those who oppose wholesome teaching are:

• arrogant and ignorant;
• obsessed with less important things;
• they promote strife and envy, malicious talk and evil suspicions;
• they are corrupt in their minds;
• they lack the truth; and
• they seek personal gain from their ministry.

We must love God for who He is, not for what we might receive; contrast Job 1.9-11.

v6: Godliness is an end in itself, and with that we are content (Phil 4.11); although we continue to pursue godliness. Jonathan Edwards says; 'Godliness is the gain that he is covetous and greedy of..’ (Religious Affections)

Israel went astray when they wanted to return to Egypt; they suffered the consequences of such desire.

v7-8: Paul answers the specific error that "godliness is a means to financial gain."

We must be content with what we have. Physical things are temporary, not eternal. Food and clothing are our basic needs; anything else is an extra, even a luxury. We can live more simply than we do. True godliness includes contentment. The western world is wealthy, and most of us live in greater luxury than is perhaps wise. Material things have become too important for us.

v9-10: Greed is the route to spiritual downfall. The desire for riches has a damaging effect. We should note the actual words here;

• "those who desire to be rich", not 'those who are rich';
• "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil", not 'money is the root of all evil.'

If God gives riches to His servant, then that is His decision. However, we recognise that greed is a characteristic of western society, and that people are measured by their financial position. That is not how God measures people, nor how we should. 'Materialism is the drug of an unjust society and it numbs our minds, quietens our conscience and distracts our attention.' (Jim Wallis, Christianity magazine, March 2011)

Men fall into temptation, fall into a trap, suffer ruin and destruction, they pierce themselves; such are the serious effects of greed.

We might also comment that such love for money is found amongst the rich and among the poor. William Booth uses this improper love as a motive to instigate a 'Poor Man's Bank' (we might say Credit Union); "If the love of money is the root of all evil, the want of money is the cause of an immensity of evil and trouble, The moment you begin practically to alleviate the miseries of the people, you discover that the eternal want of pence is one of their greatest difficulties. In my most sanguine moments I have never dreamed of smoothing this difficulty out of the lot of man, but it is surely no unattainable ideal to establish a Poor Man's Bank, which will extend to the lower middle class and the working population the advantages of the credit system, which is the very foundation of our boasted commerce." (In Darkest England, p213).

v11-12: The godly man forsakes greed, along with other sins. He pursues the things of Christ, pressing forward to know Him better, and to be more like Him.

This attitude is expressed in different ways; fight the good fight of faith; take hold of eternal life.

v13-14: Timothy had made a confession before many witnesses, which may have been when he was baptised, since it was when he was called into service for Christ.

Paul challenged him in the Name of Jesus Christ who made Him confession before Pontius Pilate. The challenge was to keep the commands set down without spot or blemish, without deviating, or even giving the impression of deviating.

The motivation to such a high standard of godly living is the appearance of Jesus Christ from Heaven.

v15-16: His appearing will be in His own time (Acts 1.7). Jesus Christ is the blessed and only Ruler (Potentate), King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The King, in the culture of the day, was the leader in battle, defender of His people, provider for His people, righteous judge, makes of laws, holder of supreme authority. In Rev 19.11, Christ the King will be manifested on a horse to fight against His enemies.

He is self-sufficient; He alone has immortality. He dwells in unapproachable light, yet we shall approach Him. Such descriptions of Jesus Christ are only true in that He is fully God.

Such a vision of Christ must motivate us to godly living.

v17-19: Instructions for the rich. There was no criticism of them simply because they were rich. They had to be reminded that riches are deceitful (Mark 4.19), and therefore not to trust in them. They were to use their wealth wisely, being ready to give, and willing to share.

They were to esteem eternal life, Phil 2.12; 2 Pet 1.5,10; work out your own salvation, press on, grow in faithfulness, add to your faith.

v20-21: Beware worldly wisdom, the enemy of faith. We must be careful what we learn from unbelievers, lest we become ensnared in worldly thinking. The effect is to stray concerning the faith.