1Ti 6:11 Bible

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◄ 1 Timothy 6:11 ►
But you, O man of God, flee these things;
and follow after righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, patience, meekness.
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EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for

English Readers
(11) But thou, O man of God, flee these
things.—A commentator always speaks
with great caution when he approaches in
these inspired writings anything of the
nature of a direct personal reference. The
writers and actors in the New Testament
history we have so long surrounded with
a halo of reverence, that we are tempted
often to forget that they were but men
exposed to temptations like us, and not
unfrequently succumbing to them. We
owe them, indeed, a deep debt of
reverence for their faithful, gallant witness
—for their splendid service in laying so
well the early storeys of the great
Christian Temple; but we lose somewhat
of the reality of the Apostolic story when
in the saint we forget the man. After the
very solemn, the intensely earnest
warning against covetousness—that fatal
love of gain and gold which seems to
have been the mainspring of the life of
those false teachers who were engaged
in marring the noble work St. Paul had
done for his Master at Ephesus—after
these weighty words, the fact of St. Paul
turning to Timothy, and, with the grand old
covenant title Timothy knew so well,
personally addressing his loved friend
with “But thou, O man of God, flee these
things,” leads us irresistibly to the
conclusion that the old Apostle was
dreading for his young and comparatively
untried disciple the corrupting danger of
the wealth of the city in which he held so
great a charge; so he warns Timothy,
and, through Timothy, God’s servants of
all grades and powers in different ages, of
the soul-destroying dangers of
covetousness—“Flee these things.” A
glance at Timothy’s present life will show
how possible it was, even for a loved
pupil of St. Paul—even for one of whom
he once wrote, “I have no man
likeminded;” and, again, “Ye know the
proof of him, that, as a son with the
father, he hath served with me in the
gospel” (Philippians 2:20-22)—to need so
grave a reminder. Since those days,
when these words were written to the
Philippians, some six years had passed.
His was no longer the old harassed life of
danger and hazard to which, as the
companion of the missionary St. Paul, he
was constantly exposed. He now filled the
position of an honoured teacher and
leader in a rich and organised church;
many and grievous were the temptations
to which, in such a station, he would be
exposed.

Gold and popularity, gain and ease, were

to be won with the sacrifice of apparently
so little, but with this sacrifice Timothy
would cease to be the “man of God.” To
maintain that St. Paul was aware of any
weakness already shown by his disciple
and friend would, of course, be a
baseless assertion; but that the older man
dreaded for the younger these dangerous
influences is clear. The term “man of
God” was the common Old Testament
name for “divine messengers,” but under
the new covenant the name seems
extended to all just men faithful to the
Lord Jesus. (See 2Timothy 3:17.) The
solemn warning, then, through Timothy
comes to each of His servants, “Flee thou
from covetousness.”

And follow after righteousness.—“The

evil must be overcome with good”
(Romans 12:21). The “man of God,”
tossing away from him all covetous
longings, must press after
“righteousness;” here used in a general
sense, signifying “the inner life shaped
after the Law of God.”

Faith, love.—The two characteristic

virtues of Christianity. The one may be
termed the hand that lays hold of God’s
mercy; and the other the mainspring of
the Christian’s life.

Patience.—That brave patience which,

for Christ’s dear sake, with a smile can
bear up against all sufferings.

Meekness.—The German “sanftmuth”—

the meekness of heart and feeling with
which a Christian acts towards his
enemies. His conduct who “when he was
reviled, reviled not again” best
exemplifies this virtue.

Benson Commentary
1 Timothy 6:11-12. But thou, O man of
God — Whatever all the world else do; (a
man of God is either a prophet, a
messenger of God, or a man devoted to
God, a man of another world;) flee — As
from a serpent, instead of coveting these
things, and follow after righteousness —
Truth, justice, mercy, with all their proper
fruits; godliness — Sincere and fervent
piety, implying devotedness to God, in
heart and life, and a conformity to his
image; faith — In all its branches,
especially as having the perfections of
God, and the truths and promises of his
word for its object, implying an evidence
of things not seen, and an earnest of
things hoped for, with fidelity as to every
trust committed to thee. This faith is the
foundation of righteousness, the support
of godliness, the root of every grace of
the Spirit; love — To God and all
mankind, friends or enemies, and
especially to all the saints. This the
apostle intermixes with every thing that is
good: he, as it were, penetrates whatever
he treats of with love, the glorious spring
of all inward and outward holiness.
Patience — Under all afflictions coming
immediately from the hand of God;
meekness — Under all provocations
proceeding from man through God’s
permission. Fight the good fight of faith —
Greek, αγωνιζου τον καλον αγωνα,
agonize the good agony, or, maintain the
good combat: the words, with those that
follow, are plainly agonistical, and refer to
the eagerness with which they who
contended in the Grecian games
struggled for, and laid hold on the crown;
and the degree to which the presence of
many spectators, or the cloud of
witnesses, animated them in their
contests. Some would translate the
clause, Exercise the good exercise; but
the word exercise does not, by any
means, express the force of αγωνα,
which always supposes an opponent to
be resisted. Lay hold on eternal life —
The prize just before thee; whereunto
thou art also called — By the gospel and
the grace of God; and — In pursuance
thereof; hast professed, &c. — Or, rather,
hast confessed; a good confession —
Probably at his baptism or ordination, or
perhaps at both; before many witnesses
— Who were present on that solemn day,
when thou wast dedicated entirely and
irrevocably to the service of God, of
Christ, of his church, and all mankind.

Matthew Henry's Concise

Commentary
6:11-16 It ill becomes any men, but
especially men of God, to set their hearts
upon the things of this world; men of God
should be taken up with the things of
God. There must be a conflict with
corruption, and temptations, and the
powers of darkness. Eternal life is the
crown proposed for our encouragement.
We are called to lay hold thereon. To the
rich must especially be pointed out their
dangers and duties, as to the proper use
of wealth. But who can give such a
charge, that is not himself above the love
of things that wealth can buy? The
appearing of Christ is certain, but it is not
for us to know the time. Mortal eyes
cannot bear the brightness of the Divine
glory. None can approach him except as
he is made known unto sinners in and by
Christ. The Godhead is here adored
without distinction of Persons, as all these
things are properly spoken, whether of
the Father, the Son, or the Holy Ghost.
God is revealed to us, only in and through
the human nature of Christ, as the only
begotten Son of the Father.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But thou, O man of God, flee these things
- These allurements of wealth, and these
sad consequences which the love of gold
produces.

And follow after righteousness, ... - Make

these the grand object of your pursuit. On
the virtues here enumerated, see the
notes on Galatians 5:22-23.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Bible Commentary
11. But thou—in contrast to the "some"
(1Ti 6:10).

man of God—who hast God as thy true

riches (Ge 15:1; Ps 16:5; La 3:24).
Applying primarily to Timothy as a
minister (compare 2Pe 1:21), just as the
term was used of Moses (De 33:1),
Samuel (1Sa 9:6), Elijah, and Elisha; but,
as the exhortation is as to duties
incumbent also on all Christians, the term
applies secondarily to him (so 2Ti 3:17)
as a Christian man born of God (Jas 1:18;
1Jo 5:1), no longer a man of the world
raised above earthly things; therefore,
God's property, not his own, bought with a
price, and so having parted with all right
in himself: Christ's work is to be his great
work: he is to be Christ's living
representative.

flee these things—namely, "the love of

money" with its evil results (1Ti 6:9, 10).

follow after righteousness—(2Ti 2:22).

godliness—"piety." Righteousness is
more in relation to our fellow man; piety
("godliness") to God"; faith is the root of
both (see on [2484]Tit 2:12).

love—by which "faith worketh."

patience—enduring perseverance amidst

trials.

meekness—The oldest manuscripts read,

"meek-spiritedness," namely, towards the
opponents of the Gospel.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

O man of God; that is, O thou minister of
God, whose service is not the service of
the world. It is a compellation borrowed
from the Old Testament, where we find it
often applied to such whose work was to
reveal the Divine will, 2 Kings 1:9
4:40,42. By giving Timothy this
compellation, he mindeth him how much
he was concerned to contemn the world.

Flee these things; flee this eager pursuit

of riches.

And follow after righteousness; and

follow after justice, or the business of a
righteous life, in thy conversation with
men.

Godliness; piety toward God.

Faith; the exercise and life of faith.

Love; love to God and thy neighbour.

Patience; a quiet bearing of injuries.

Meekness; a gentleness of spirit,

opposed to all rash anger.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire

Bible
But thou, O man of God,.... Not only by
creation, as every man is; nor merely by
special grace, as everyone is, that is
chosen of God, redeemed by Christ, and
regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit;
but by his peculiar office, as an evangelist
and minister of the word, being qualified
for, and devoted to, and employed in the
service of God. The phrase is taken out of
the Old Testament, where the prophets,
Elijah and Elisha, are so called, 2 Kings
1:9,

flee these things; the Arabic version

reads "these abominations"; namely, all
questions and strifes of words, from
whence so many evils follow, 1 Timothy
6:4 and all worldly gain, selfish interest,
and mercenary views in religion; a wicked
resolution to be rich, at any rate, and an
immoderate love of the things of the
world, and an eager pursuit after them,
which expose to great danger, and even
utter ruin; things very unbecoming any
professor of religion, but much more a
minister of the Gospel.

And follow after righteousness; not for

justification before God, that he had
followed after, and attained unto, which is
the righteousness of Christ, and not of the
law; but for the honour of religion before
men; and intends the doing of justice
between man and man, giving everyone
their own, which in undue affection for the
world sometimes leads men from:

godliness; spiritual religion, holiness of

heart, and conversation, which has the
promise of this life, as well as of the other,
and with contentment is great gain;
wherefore to pursue this is much better
than greedily to run after the riches of this
world, or with the false teachers to
suppose that godliness lies in worldly
gain, or in securing to a man his worldly
interest:

faith; the grace of faith, which looks not to

things seen, which are temporal, but to
things not seen, which are eternal; and
leads off the mind from sublunary
enjoyments to God, and Christ, and the
glories of another world; and is the
leading grace to all others, and the
foundation of good works, without which
there is no pleasing in acts of moral
righteousness, or in any acts of religious
worship, which may be called godliness:

love; to God, which is inconsistent with

serving mammon, or with an immoderate
love of money; and to Christ, which will
put a man on seeking, not his own things,
but the things of Christ; and to the saints,
which will direct him to serve them by
acts of beneficence and liberality:

patience; in bearing reproaches and

indignities; in suffering injuries, loss of
goods, imprisonment, and every sort of
persecution, for the sake of the Gospel;
which a covetous disposition will not
admit of: last of all,

meekness; or humility, not seeking great

things, but being content with a lower
station of life; for generally it is pride that
puts men upon a determination to be rich
at any rate: it may also design meekness
in instructing the ignorant, in refuting
error, and in reproving offenders.

Geneva Study Bible

{9} But thou, O {e} man of God, flee these
things; and follow after righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience,
meekness.

(9) A peculiar exhortation to various

virtues, with which it appropriate for the
pastors especially to be furnished.

(e) Whom the Spirit of God rules.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary
1 Timothy 6:11. The apostle again turns
to Timothy, exhorting him to a faithful
fulfilment of his Christian and evangelical
vocation.

σὺ δε] opposed to τινές, 1 Timothy 6:10

ὦ ἄνθρωπε [τοῦ] Θεοῦ] The expression
may be taken in a more general or a
more special sense; so, too, in 2 Peter
1:21. It does not, however, follow “that
Paul thus names Timothy here because
of his evangelic office;” the exhortations
following rather show that the apostle was
thinking of Timothy’s position as a
Christian; comp. 2 Timothy 3:17.

ταῦτα φεῦγε] ταῦτα refers to the

φιλαργυρία and that which is connected
with it (de Wette, Wiesinger, and others);
not to everything that has been said in 1
Timothy 6:3-10, because “1 Timothy 6:17
ff. show that the author is keeping in view
the subject of riches,” de Wette. φεύγειν
vitare; comp. 2 Timothy 2:22; 1
Corinthians 6:18. Hofmann wrongly
deduces from this exhortation that
Timothy had some inclination to
φιλαργυρία; one might as well deduce
from the next exhortation that Timothy
had no inclination to δικαιοσύνη κ.τ.λ. It
is to be observed that it is not said φεῦγε
ἀπό or ἐκ τούτων; comp., besides, the
passages quoted.

δίωκε δὲ τὴν δικαιοσύνην] διώκειν

here as in Deuteronomy 16:20, LXX.;
Romans 12:13, and other passages of
the N. T. (neque exteris scriptoribus
infrequens est haec hujus verbi notio; see
Xenophon, Cyropaedia, viii. 1. 39;
Thucydides, ii. 63; Leo). Paul names six
Christian virtues which Timothy is to
cultivate, the six being arranged in pairs.
The two most general in meaning are
placed first: δικαιοσύνην
(righteousness) and εὐσέβειαν (comp.
Titus 2:12). Then follow πίστιν (not
“faithfulness or conscientiousness,” but
“faith”) and ἀγάπην as the ground
principle of the Christian life. Last come
ὑπομόνην and πραϋπάθειαν (ἅπ. λεγ.,
Philo, de Abrah. p. 379), which denote
the Christian conduct proper in regard to
the hostility of the world against the
gospel, the former being opposed to
submission, the latter to exasperation.

Expositor's Greek Testament

1 Timothy 6:11-16 are a digression into a
personal appeal. Cf. 2 Timothy 2:1; 2
Timothy 3:10; 2 Timothy 3:14; 2 Timothy
4:5.

Cambridge Bible for Schools

and Colleges
11–16. A further exhortation to Timothy.
The Lord’s appearing

Timothy’s own true life and bearing are

solemnly dwelt upon in contrast to the
false and low; see on 1 Timothy 6:3.

thou, O man of God] Opposed not only to

the ‘some’ of 1 Timothy 6:10 but to the
‘any’ of 1 Timothy 6:3. The phrase ‘man
of God’ occurs also with the same
reference to the ministry, 2 Timothy 3:17,
derived probably from the O. T. ministry of
the prophets; cf. 2 Peter 1:21, where the
best reading, however, slightly varies the
phrase ‘men spake from God;’ and 1
Kings 17:18; 1 Kings 17:24. It marks the
high tone of this final address; and is in
keeping with the full dignity of title which
in both these last contrasts of the false
and the true ministry is given to the great
Head of the Church’s ministry (and given
here only in these Epistles) ‘Our Lord
Jesus Christ.’

flee these things] ‘Unsound words, and

ungodly doctrine,’ ‘questionings and evil
surmisings,’ ‘traffic in godliness and love
of money.’ These three heads of evil, in
the 3rd, 4th, and 5th to 10th verses
respectively, are opposed by three pairs
of contrasted virtues: ‘righteousness and
godliness,’ ‘faith and love,’ ‘patience and
meekness.’ In the first pair ‘the sound
words,’ ‘the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ,’ go to the very root of the matter
as fully expounded, Romans 6. ‘Baptised
into Christ Jesus … dead unto sin, but
alive unto God in Christ Jesus …
obedient from the heart to that form of
teaching … ye became servants of
righteousness,’ and 1 Corinthians 1. ‘We
preach Christ crucified … Christ the
power of God … of Him are ye in Christ
Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom
from God and righteousness’; all this
being but the working out of the very
‘words of the Lord,’ Matthew 5:6, ‘Blessed
are they that hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled.’ In
the second pair ‘faith’ is as evidently the
antidote to ‘ignorance,’ ‘questionings,’ and
‘disputes of words,’ as ‘love’ is to ‘envy,
strife, railings, evil surmisings. In the third
pair ‘patient endurance’ and ‘meekness of
heart’ are well fitted to produce ‘godliness
with contentment,’ as being the very
graces to which ‘the words of the Lord’
assign the blessings of that ‘kingdom of
heaven’ which is ‘godliness,’ and that
‘inheritance of the earth’ which is
‘contentment.’ ‘Blessed are the poor in
spirit,’ ‘Blessed are the meek.’

meekness] The compound word,

meekness of heart, a word peculiar
here, is to be read. See note on 2
Timothy 2:25.

Bengel's Gnomen
1 Timothy 6:11. Ὦ ἄνθρωπε τοῦ Θεοῦ)
O man of God. So the LXX. for the
Hebrew, man of God, i.e. a prophet, a
mediating messenger of God to men, one
removed from earthly things.—ταῦτα
φεῦγε, flee these things) He resumes,
after the parenthesis, the words which he
had spoken at the end of 1 Timothy 6:5.
Therefore the expression, these things, is
to be referred to 1 Timothy 6:4-5 : for both
enumerations form an evident antithesis
[to what follows in 1 Timothy 6:11]: to this
antithesis flee, follow, belong.—
δικαιοσύνην, righteousness) This
comprehends all the other things, and is
again put in the first place, 2 Timothy
2:22.—εὐσέβειαν, godliness) The
antithesis is the abuse of godliness, 1
Timothy 6:5. πίστιν, ἀγάπην, faith, love)
Their antitheses are envy, strife, 1
Timothy 6:4. ὑπομονὴν, patience) by
which even calumnious railings are
endured, ibid. πρᾳότητα, meekness) by
which evil surmisings are overcome, ibid.

Pulpit Commentary
Verse 11. - O man of God. The force of
this address is very great. It indicates that
the money-lovers just spoken of were not
and could not be "men of God," whatever
they might profess; and it leads with
singular strength to the opposite direction
in which Timothy's aspirations should
point. The treasures which he must covet
as "a man of God" were "righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience
meekness." For the phrase, "man of
God," see 2 Timothy 3:17 and 2 Peter
1:21. In the Old Testament it always
applies to a prophet (Deuteronomy 33:1;
Judges 13:6; 1 Samuel 2:27; 1 Kings
12:22; 2 Kings 1:9; Jeremiah 35:4; and a
great many other passages). St. Paul
uses the expression with especial
reference to Timothy and his holy office,
and here, perhaps, in contrast with the
τοὺς ἀνθρώπους mentioned in ver. 9.
Flee these things. Note the sharp contrast
between "the men" of the world, who
reach after, and the man of God, who
avoids, φιλαργυρία. The expression,
"these things," is a little loose, but seems
to apply to the love of money, and the
desire to be rich, with all their attendant
"foolish and hurtful lusts." The man of
God avoids the perdition and maul fold
sorrows of the covetous, by avoiding the
covetousness which is their root. Follow
after (δίωκε); pursue, in direct contrast
with φεύγε, flee from, avoid (see 2
Timothy 2:22). Meekness (πρα'υπαθείαν).
This rare word, found in Philo, but
nowhere in the New Testament, is the
reading of the R.T. (instead of the
πρᾳο;τητα of the T.R.) and accepted by
almost all critics on the authority of all the
older manuscripts. It has no perceptible
difference of meaning from πραότης,
meekness or gentleness.

Vincent's Word Studies

Man of God (ἄνθρωπε θεοῦ)

The phrase only in Pastorals. Comp 2

Timothy 3:17. Not an official designation.

Righteousness (δικαιοσύνην)

See on Romans 1:17. Not in the Pauline

dogmatic sense, but as Ephesians 5:9,
moral rectitude according to God's law.