To serve one's master is to serve the Lord, because our
true reward is from Him (Colossians 3:24)
All masters are to be counted worthy of honor, so as NOT
to blaspheme God and His doctrine (I Timothy 6:1)
Israel blasphemed the Name of God among the nations by
violating His Law (Romans 2:17-24)
The love of Christ should motivate the saints to see that
ALL are sinners for whom Christ died and, therefore, they should live unto Him Who died for them (II Corinthians 5:14-15)
as befitting the eternal trophies of His grace (Ephesians 2:4-7)
Believing masters should be not abused, but respected
as faithful and beloved brethren who are partakers of their servants' labors (I Timothy 6:2)
Note the double appeal of Paul to both slave and master:
He encouraged Onesimus to be subject to his master in
the gospel (Philemon 12-13)
He encouraged Philemon to receive his slave as a brother
in the Lord (Philemon 15-16)
If anyone teaches contrary to Paul's words concerning
submission to authority - both within (I Timothy 6:1-2) and outside the Church (Romans 13:1), then that person is proud and without knowledge (I Timothy 6:3-4)
Asserting one's own rights for personal gain instead of
submitting to the authority of others engenders strife, bitter accusations, evil surmises, and perverse disputes
(I Timothy 6:4)
Such aggressive behavior should be shunned - it reveals
a corrupt mind devoid of the truth concerning contentment, which is consistent with godliness and is of true value
(I Timothy 6:5-6)
Submission to God's delegated authority follows from thanksgiving
to Him (Ephesians 5:20-21) and communicates grace to the edification of its hearers (Ephesians 4:29)
Paul insists that his words are the very words of Christ
(I Timothy 6:3), because he received his message as a direct revelation from Christ
(Galatians 1:11-12)
Desire for earthly riches is a snare to faithfulness,
which can lead to folly and hurt and the eventual drowning out of the true riches (I Timothy 6:9 cf. Philippians 3:17-19)
Love of money is a root that is all evil causing some
to err concerning the faith and resulting in the piercing through of one's spirit with many sorrows (I Timothy 6:10 cf. Ephesians 4:28-30)
The "man of God" should flee the desire for
earthly riches and pursue the enjoyment of heavenly riches (I Timothy 6:11 cf. Colossians 3:1-2)
Worldly men seek fleeting earthly riches which only in
the end have to be left to their children, but David's desire was eternal resurrection glory in the presence of
the Lord (Psalms 17:14-15)
The Lord counseled His hearers NOT to lay up corruptible
earthly treasure, BUT to lay up incorruptible heavenly treasure (Matthew 6:19-20)
The Lord also admonished his hearers that a man's life
is NOT defined by the abundance of his earthly riches (Luke 12:15)
Paul exhorts Timothy to keep fighting "the good fight
of the faith" by continuing to "lay hold of eternal life" (I Timothy 6:12)
The believer's warfare requires spiritual armor to stand
against spiritual foes in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:10-13) where God sees the believer as "blessed" in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)
and "seated" together with Christ (Ephesians 2:6)
The believer's spiritual protection are doctrinal truths
(I Thessalonians 5:8):
Paul charges Timothy before the Lord Jesus Christ, Who
witnessed a good confession (profession) before Pilate - that Timothy would also remain true to his calling and
witness a like confession (profession) at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ (I Timothy 6:13-14)
The good confession (profession) witnessed by the Lord
Jesus before Pilate was "My kingdom is NOT of this world" (John 18:36)
Servants of the Lord must hold "the mystery of the
faith in a pure conscience" (I Timothy 3:9) without regard for personal gain (I Timothy 3:8)
While the fight rages on today, the believer is encouraged
that one day the fighting will cease by the Lord revealing Himself as the ONLY True Sovereign and the Eternal True
Light (I Timothy 6:15-16)
Trust in the Living God Who gives ALL things to enjoy
and NOT in the dead idol of covetousness, which cannot communicate life (Colossians 3:5 cf. Psalms 135:15-18)
Be rich in good works (distributing and sharing one's
wealth for the furtherance of the gospel), which will lay up good treasure for the life that is to come (Galatians 6:6-10)
The knowledge (science) of the world is NOT true knowledge
and is opposed to that sacred "deposit" committed to the safe keeping of faithful men who are strong
in grace (I Timothy 6:20-21 cf. II Timothy 2:1-2)
God has ordained that the world by its wisdom would NOT
be able to know Him (I Corinthians 1:18-21)
To the world the "preaching of the cross" is
BOTH a stumbling block and foolishness, but to those who are called of God it is the "power of God unto salvation"
(I Corinthians 1:22-24)
The world's perceived foolishness and weakness of God,
i.e. the "preaching of the cross", is also the world's same perception of the calling of God's people
(I Corinthians 1:25-26)
God does indeed choose the foolish and weak things of
this world to bring to naught the wise and mighty of this world, so that NO flesh may glory in His presence (I Corinthians 1:27-29)
The believer's glory is in the Lord Who is made to the
believer ALL what the believer is NOT able to do for himself or herself (I Corinthians 1:30-31)