1 Timothy 4: Godliness, a Treasure for Eternity

Introduction

On Sunday, October 4, 2026, at the third service of Kobe Christ Glory Church (神戸キリスト栄光教会) in Kobe, the church's pastor opens the first letter to Timothy. Together with the congregation, he reads all of chapter 4, verses 1 to 16, aloud, because Paul himself asks Timothy to devote himself to reading (verse 13).

Paul met Timothy in Lystra, on his first missionary journey, in the city where a man lame from birth began to walk. On the second journey, he took Timothy with him as a disciple, and Timothy stayed at his side for life. In his letters, Paul teaches him the way a father teaches his son: "Do this, and in that case do that." Together with the letter to Titus, these are the pastoral epistles, personal letters that the Spirit preserved to make them the word of God.

Two thousand years have passed. The world has become fast and comfortable, and we have access to far more knowledge. But, says the preacher, the inside of a person has not changed, whether in the time of Noah, of Abraham, of Jesus, or today. That is why this letter, written to a young servant, still speaks to you about your life and your faith.

Outline of the Message

1. The Last Times Are Times of Deception

"But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons" (verse 1). The preacher sees in this a prophecy of the Spirit.
According to the Bible's calendar, the last times began with the coming of Jesus. So we are living, he says, "at the end of the end of the end" of these last times.
Even in the time of Jesus, the warning against deceiving spirits was given. Today deception is even more widespread. With artificial intelligence, you can no longer tell whether an image or a video is real. A false piece of news seen first gets imprinted in your mind, and it takes a lot of energy and time to erase it.
How do you tell good teaching from bad teaching? Healthy teaching makes you a good person in society and in your family, and your relationships improve. Bad teaching destroys the relationship between spouses, between parents and children, and within the community, and ends up destroying the life of the one who clings to it.

2. To Avoid Being Deceived, Stay Humble

The first safeguard is humility: simply asking the Lord to keep you from deception.
The preacher warns that the person who thinks "I will never be fooled" is exactly the one who gets fooled. He admits with humor that he is rather that kind of person himself.
He has the congregation say: "Maybe I could be deceived too. So I will be careful." This attitude is important.
He tells of a local news story: a few days earlier, a person in Ashiya received calls from a so-called police officer. Over ten transfers, that person handed over about six hundred million yen before understanding it was a scam. To have built up such a fortune, that person must have been very capable. And yet they were fooled. Nobody knows by whom they might be deceived.
Paul warns Timothy twice about the last times. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, he draws up a list of some twenty traits: people who are selfish, lovers of money, ungrateful, loving pleasure more than God, who keep a form of godliness while denying its power. And he concludes by telling Timothy to turn away from such people. Deception is not noticed at the beginning; you notice it when it is already late.

3. Marriage Is Holy, and No One Should Direct Your Life

The false teachers forbid "marriage" (verse 3). Yet marriage is sacred. According to the Bible, the returning Christ is the bridegroom and the Church is the bride who waits for him, as the letter to the Ephesians writes. Marriage is a reflection of this holy reality, and it must be kept as something precious.
Marriage belongs to the freedom of individuals: two people get to know each other and are led together into marriage.
False prophets, on the other hand, dominate other people's lives. They say: "You and him, get married," or "Separate," "Buy these shares," "Move." Someone who is not involved decides the most important things in your life. That is a very bad sign.
The preacher testifies that he has never given an order about a personal decision without being asked. When someone comes to consult him, he prays and shares the wisdom he has received.

4. Everything God Created Is Good

The false teachers also command people "to abstain from foods" (verse 3). Some wanted to impose the food laws of the Old Testament on Christians: in Leviticus, one may eat animals that chew the cud and have a divided hoof, such as cattle or sheep, but not pork or camel, nor water creatures without scales, such as eel or crab.
Paul answers: "For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer" (verses 4 and 5). For the preacher, this is the one word that shows so clearly that the Christian is freed from the food laws. When you pray before eating, what you eat is sanctified.
He says it with humor: tonight you can eat a tonkatsu (a breaded pork cutlet), and eel too, which he would love to eat every day. He notes that Jewish believers, even when freed from these rules, often keep the habit of not eating pork, because they grew up that way.
Paul adds that by teaching this to the brothers, Timothy will be "a good servant of Christ Jesus" (verse 6).
The preacher recalls Acts 15: at the council of Jerusalem, the leaders of the Church, almost all Jewish, decided that non-Jewish believers would only have to observe four things: abstaining from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us," they say. This freedom allowed the gospel to spread all at once throughout the whole world. If we still had to observe the whole law, it would be very hard. Give thanks for this freedom.

5. Don't Waste Your Energy on Endless Stories

"Refuse profane and old wives' fables" (verse 7). An older Japanese translation speaks of "imaginary stories." Paul comes back to this subject several times in his letters to Timothy.
In the early Church, there were Greek myths and other tales, and also endless discussions, for example about the genealogy of Jesus: was he really a descendant of David? That is why Matthew and Luke give his genealogy. These debates resemble theological quarrels that last for years without conclusion.
Time and energy are lost in them. Paul tells Timothy: don't let yourself be drawn in, but spend quiet time before God instead.

6. Train Yourself in Godliness

"Exercise yourself toward godliness" (verse 7). The preacher asks the congregation: "Are you godly Christians?" The laughter shows how hesitant people are to say it about themselves.
He answers: in the eyes of those who are not Christians, you are. You go to church every Sunday, you take the train, you give it your time and your money, you pray, you give the offering. People will say of you: "He was a godly Christian, he went to church every week." He invites everyone to say this to their neighbor.
"Bodily exercise has some value" (verse 8). Paul seems to have loved sports: he speaks of running to win the prize, of not beating the air, of finishing the race. The Bible does not reject physical exercise. The preacher mentions his grandson, who plays drums in the worship band and spends hours at the gym, and a well-known pastor of about fifty who is very muscular: that is a good thing.

7. Godliness Before God Is an Eternal Treasure

"Godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now, and of that which is to come" (verse 8). Offering God your worship with joy and obeying him in your life, that is godliness.
The preacher has the congregation repeat: "Godliness before God is an eternal treasure." Physical exercise and financial blessings are reasons for gratitude, but they are limited: they are worth something only as long as we are in this body.
He concludes by giving thanks: each person already receives an eternal treasure. In his prayer, he thanks God that today we can learn what Paul taught Timothy two thousand years ago, and asks that everyone walk in obedience, prayer, and praise, loving God and loving others.

Key Takeaways

We live at the end of the last times, when deception is spreading. Healthy teaching builds your relationships; bad teaching destroys them.
The best safeguard against deception is humility: "Maybe I could be deceived, so I will be careful."
Marriage is holy, and no leader should decide the important choices of your life for you.
Everything God created is good: the Christian is free from the food laws and receives food with thanksgiving.
Physical exercise is useful for a time; godliness is a treasure for the present life and for eternity.

Personal Application

In what area do you think you are safe from any deception, and how could you be more watchful there?
Do the teachings you listen to improve your relationships in your marriage, your family, and your community?
Do you let someone decide for you about things God has entrusted to you, or do you seek his wisdom in prayer?
What endless discussions take time and energy that you could spend quietly before God?
How much time do you devote to taking care of your body, and how much to training yourself in godliness?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "in the last times" mean in 1 Timothy 4?

For the preacher, according to the Bible's calendar, the last times began with the coming of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. So today we are living at the very end of these last times, a period when deception is spreading and becoming more skillful, for example with computer-generated images and videos that can no longer be told apart from reality.

Do Christians still have to follow the Old Testament food laws?

No. Paul writes that everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:4-5). The preacher also recalls that the council of Jerusalem, in Acts 15, asked non-Jewish believers for only four things, which freed the gospel to spread throughout the whole world.

Why is godliness worth more than physical exercise?

Paul does not despise physical exercise: it is useful. But it serves only during life in this body. Godliness, on the other hand, is useful in all things and has the promise of the life which is now and of that which is to come (1 Timothy 4:8). The preacher sums it up this way: godliness before God is an eternal treasure.