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1 Timothy 6:11 (Part 2) – Godliness 

Picture of a cross with light radiating out from it (Grok)

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 

Summary: If we are to pursue godliness, we need to understand what that means and what we are to run toward.   

But you, man of God … pursue… godliness.

The Greek word Paul used is “eusebeia,” a word that means “reverence, respect, … piety toward God, [and] godliness.”* When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he taught them to begin with, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name… “ (Matthew 6:9).

To “hallow” the Lord’s name is to show the ultimate respect — to honor God’s name as holy. Reverence, respect, and piety are all wrapped up into godliness when we honor God as holy. Godliness, then, is not a one-time ‘tip of the hat’ to God. Godliness is a way of living, a way Paul says we should pursue. 

How do we pursue an attitude like godliness? Paul provides a clue in 1 Timothy 3:16 —

“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

He appeared in the flesh,
    was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
    was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
    was taken up in glory.”

Paul is telling us that the source of true godliness is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus, in turn, explains the secret to godliness this way: 

“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19)

It is often said that“Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” A Christian version of this saying might be, “Imitation is the highest form of respect.” Another way of saying this is “Imitation is the highest form of godliness. 

If we can learn to imitate Jesus’s love for the Father, and imitate the Father’s love for all people, we are pointed in the right direction. If we actively pursue godly love (agapē), we are pursuing godliness. 

Application: Strive to love as God loves.  

Food for Thought: How is Christian godliness different from following the Old Covenant laws?

*”G2150 – eusebeia – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (NIV).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Jul, 2026. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2150/niv/mgnt/0-1/>.

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1 Timothy 6:11 (Part 1) – Righteousness 

A man is chasing a bus called "Righteousness" (Grok)

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 

Summary: Looking closely at the word “righteousness” opens the door to new insights about how the word is used.   

In our last meditation, we asked the question, “What are we to do instead of being ‘eager for money’?” In this verse, Paul answers the question with typical Pauline conciseness. 

‘Pursue better things!,’ he says. Pursue “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.” 

Let’s begin with righteousness. 

Righteousness, unfortunately, is a word that is often misused and misunderstood. Like many other words such as “judging” or “love,” righteousness has different meanings depending on the way it is used. 

The world uses the word “righteous” to mean “morally right,” but unfortunately for the world, without God there is no standard for what is “morally right.” For those who know God personally, God is the definition of all that is “right.” God, therefore, is righteous. 

One of the main points of the Bible is that man is not God and is not capable of being “righteous” in a godlike sense. Hopefully we can all agree that this is true. However, the word “righteous” still has meaning for us. 

The first meaning is what the theologians call “imputed” righteousness. “Imputed” is a fancy word that means God can decide to call somebody righteous if he wants to (even though we don’t technically qualify as righteous). 

For example, God considered Abraham a righteous man. The Bible says:

“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)

It is hard to beat that kind of righteousness! It is like getting an A+ on a college exam even though you misspelled your own name. 

Paul explains how this applies to us when he writes: 

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus, who is God, extends his righteousness to those who are his sheep. 

But what about the other kind of righteousness? What about righteous living? 

When Paul tells Timothy (and us!) to “pursue righteousness,” he has something very specific in mind. He is not saying that we should conform to the Old Testament covenant law. Instead, he wants us to abide by the New Testament covenant law: Love (agapē). As Jesus so succinctly put it: 

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)

Application: Love God and others as God loves us.  

Food for Thought: Why is personal righteousness in our Christian lives important? 

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1 Timothy 6:6 – Godly Goodness

Picture of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. (Grok)
Jesus being tempted in the wilderness.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. 

Summary: Paul’s statement about godliness is challenging because it forces us to think about what godliness means.   

What is the most important thing in life? 

Be careful! This is a trick question!! 

When we use the word “life,” it helps to remember that we live two lives at once. Remember this from Paul’s famous letter to the church at Rome? 

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7:15)

What Paul is describing is the struggle between the two lives he is living. One life is tied up in the world of the flesh; the other is a resident of the spiritual realm. Our spirit, with the help of the Holy Spirit, wants to do what is right. Our flesh, on the other hand, wants to please itself. 

When we ask the question, “What is the most important thing in life?,” the first thing we need to think about is which “life” we are talking about. Are we thinking in terms of the flesh, the body that gets old and dies, or are we thinking in terms of our eternal spirit? 

When it comes to our eternal spirit, the most important thing in life is Jesus. Period. 

There is nothing we need more and nothing that comes even close in importance. Jesus is everything. 

Godliness is all about being Jesus-like. Jesus always puts the will of his Father first. 

Remember when he was called out into the wilderness just after he was baptized? (Matthew 4:1-11)

In that story, Jesus is “led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). But it wasn’t like, “Okay, Satan, let’s get this over with.” Instead, it was God’s will that Jesus sit there and wait for forty days and nights without food before he was tempted. 

Godliness is not about feeding the flesh, about our comfort, or about pleasing ourselves. Godliness is all about God. And you know what? If we can please God, even just a little bit, there is contentment and great gain in that. 

Application: Always keep our eyes on Jesus!  

Food for Thought: How does making Jesus our number one priority affect our “other life” in the flesh? 

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1 Timothy 5:1b – Little Brother

Jesus hands the man with the spilled apple cart a better apple glowing with life. (Grok)

Treat younger men as brothers…

Summary: Paul’s instruction to Timothy about younger men is part of our Lord’s plan for setting things right in the world.   

Life is hard without Jesus. 

I remember, when I was very young, hearing someone say, “Too bad life doesn’t come with an instruction manual!” It was a comment that seemed to capture all the confusion of life’s many decisions and turning points. 

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1 Timothy 4:8 – The Life to Come

A man works out with two angels watching. (Grok)

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 

Summary: Does godliness have a value? It turns out that it does.   

Perhaps you have heard it said that this is a “dog eat dog” world? 

As gruesome as that saying is, the reality of a world without Christ is much worse. When it comes to “getting your way” in the world, the shortest distance between you and what you want is probably at the end of a good, stout club. 

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1 Timothy 4:6a – Paul’s Points

An ancient scroll with the words "Serve with humility and love" on it. (Grok)

If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus…

Summary: Paul’s admonition to “point out” certain things makes us wonder what Paul was referring to.   

Have you ever wondered what Paul means by “these things” in this passage? Is he talking about just the things in the last paragraph, or is he talking about his whole letter so far? 

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1 Timothy 4:1b – Calling Jesus

A ghostly form of a man reaches up toward the radiant hand of Christ (Grok)

[The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith] and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 

Summary: Paul points back to the origin of deception to help us see the danger of listening to anything other than Christ.  

In our last meditation, “For or Against?,” we explored two possible views about what “abandon the faith” might mean. 

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