Watch your life and doctrine closely.
Summary: Paul’s use of Greek once again challenges us to consider the deeper meaning of what he was trying to say.
We often talk about the difference between the meanings of the original Greek words and the English translations, but in this case, we have one more barrier to cross.
When we talk about ‘doctrine,’ we know what we are talking about. A doctrine is a teaching, like Paul’s three “trustworthy sayings” in his letter to Timothy. We can look at what Paul teaches, evaluate it against the rest of Scripture, and, like the Bereans (Acts 17:11), we can test it to see if it is true.
When Paul writes, “Watch your life…” that is not the same as watching someone’s doctrine. The Greek Paul used is “epechō seautou,” which, translated literally, means “watch yourself.”
If you are walking along a mountain trail with friends, and you come to a place where there is danger, you probably call back to your friends, “Watch yourself!” meaning, “Be careful!”
In a sense, Paul means something similar, and in another sense, he does not.
Paul isn’t concerned about Timothy getting hurt. He is concerned about Timothy losing focus on his ministry and allowing others to be hurt spiritually.
Instead of watching out for the safety of his body (flesh), Paul is encouraging Timothy to watch out for the condition of his inner self.
In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul writes, “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” (Romans 8:5)
What Paul is talking about is something inside of himself that decides what kind of person he is going to be. When Paul writes, “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them…” (v 15), there is only one person other than God who knows if Timothy actually does it, and that is Timothy himself.
In essence, Paul is telling Timothy not only to make sure his teachings align with God’s will, but that his heart and mind are in alignment with God as well.
Application: Watch yourself.
Food for Thought: In Romans 7:14-25, Paul writes about himself as if he were two people inside. What part of our inner selves controls the doctrines we believe as well as the doctrines we teach?
In Romans 7:14-25, Paul writes about himself as if he were two people inside. What part of our inner selves controls the doctrines we believe as well as the doctrines we teach?
I would have to say (initially) that it is our heart. Jesus did say that our heart is the source of good or evil from a person:
Luke 6:45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
The Word also says that the heart controls our beliefs and actions:
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
But then there is a problem; the heart is deceitful:
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.
I would offer then that there is a third aspect to our inner self: our spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
Job 32:8 But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.
If our spirit is separated from God, we live in death under sin, and our heart and mind are at war with each other. Paul speaks to this in Romans 7:14-25.
If our spirit is born again through Christ, God pours His love into our hearts, fills our hearts, and from it we draw out life.
Romans 5:5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Ephesians 3:16-17
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
So (and I know I took the long way around), the part of our inner selves that controls the doctrines we believe as well as the doctrines we teach is our spirit in submission to God’s Spirit, through Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, filling our hearts, empowering our minds, and coming forth from our mouths.
Note: I know that the spirit affects the heart, and the heart affects he mind, and the mind affects the heart, and the heart affects the spirit…and it all sounds very circular. Without Christ in our heart, this make up does not work well, it is dysfunctional and at odds with itself. With Christ in our hearts though, His Spirit within us makes it work as God intended.
Thank you, Chris.
I appreciate your note at the end of your comment. We are not talking about the gears in the car transmission which we can take apart and see. We are talking about something inside of us that only God can see clearly.