”These things putting under to the brethren a beautiful servant you will be of Jesus Christ, being fed by the words of the faith and the beautiful teaching which you have followed.”
-A beautiful servant. A beautiful servant - of Christ Jesus. It was said of Him, that He did all things beautifully (Mark 7.37). Who among us, among those who have truly come to know Him and are following Him, who doesn’t aspire to the same? To be a beautiful tree which produces beautiful fruit for our Savior (Matthew 7.17-19, 12.33)? This word meaning "good" in a beautiful sense (kalos) appears more frequently in 1Timothy than in any other book of the New Testament. Beautiful servant, beautiful teaching. The Law is beautiful. Beautiful fight, a beautiful work, reputation, home, managers, service, reputation, creation, works, confession, foundation.
-And so here, Timothy has the chance to actually beautify himself (AND the Lord) by putting these things under the believers at Ephesus. It is the rock which supports them for whatever it is they are facing (cf Genesis 28.18, Exodus 17.12). Placing these things, these beautiful truths, this teaching under them (and in them) such that it forms a foundation which equips them to follow Christ more beautifully.
-And yes, make no mistake that these truths, this beautiful teaching, these words of faith - they are food for the soul. How many of us can miss even one meal before our body bogs down and our service (whatever form it takes) gets a little ugly? These words of faith - they are life, they are milk and meat and bread. Bread - the staple food in much of the world (or rice, I suppose). Daily bread. Heavenly manna. Isaiah 55.1-12, Matthew 4.4. These words of faith, these words of life - they are nourishment and sustenance for the long journey of faith, an arduous uphill journey of unspeakable beauty and joy which begins anew each and every day. It IS a race, a fight, a battle. And sadly, most of us, most days, rather than fueling up, we eschew our spiritual carbo-load and insist on running on fumes. Maybe we grab a small slice of toast, a hurried glance at Christ. That and the preacher’s regurgitations on Sunday morning. Not nearly enough to put us in a position to run with the quickness, to run in such a way as to win, much less effect radical transformation. If ours were a real endurance event, surely many of us would be hitting the wall. Barely making it, crawling to the finish. Surely many of us - if we could get an honest glimpse of our spiritual selves in the mirror would see something rather more emaciated than robust and beautiful. No, it starts right here, right at the beautiful feet of Jesus, the very spot which Mary chose to take up - He is the Bread of Life, and unhurried time at His feet, feasting on His words of life - this is where it all begins (and ends). Or should. Each and every day.
-And let us not miss the value added for Teacher Timothy as well. The participle makes it pretty clear that there is nourishment here for him as well. You wanna learn something? Try teaching it to others. Can’t teach what you don’t know. Before you can effectively teach others, you generally need to learn it, you need to go there yourself. It usually doesn’t go as well to try and take someone someplace where no one has gone before - unless you are Captain Kirk on the Starship Enterprise. Maybe if your mission is seek out new worlds and civilizations, but not if you’re a teacher/pastor (or a discipler). Timothy has been learning and following these beautiful teachings for some time (he’s had to, really) - and these have fed (and continue to feed) his soul as well. He has learned them and immersed himself in them such that he is able to teach others also (cf 2Timothy 2.2), to do so beautifully, the doing of which is also cementing and reinforcing and strengthening these truths in his own heart and life. But the quality of the teaching is vital - next verse...
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