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J_Michael80 -> Man of God (8/7/2008 7:37:35 AM)

I wanted to create this thread after reading "Disciplines of a Godly Man" by Kent Hughes. What is a man of God? Paul addresses Timothy with this distinguished title, calling him, "O man of God" (1 Timothy 6:11). This is a remarkable word. In the Old Testament, this title was only reserved for the prophets. However, in the New Testament, only Timothy is addressed this way. So what does it mean to be a man of God according to (1 Timothiy 6:11-12)? There are 3 verbs here that mark what Paul commands Timothy to do:

1. "Flee from these things"
2. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness"
3. "Fight the good fight of the faith."

The first meaning is "flee these things." Usually in scripture we are told to flee certain things. For example, we are to "flee immorality" always! However, Paul in this verse is actually referring to what he has just covered in the previous paragraph in his word about false teachers. Timothy is to flee the 3 characteristics of false teachings:

1. conceit
2. combativeness
3. avarice, greed, the love of money, and the hunger for material gain

Next, Paul's second command is "pursue" or "follow after" which is the most important command. He lists six things to follow after:

1. righteousness
2. godliness
3. faithfulness
4. love
5. steadfastness
6. gentleness

The final verb is "Fight the good fight of faith." This recognizes the true nature of the Christian life. Many people have trouble in this area. They are always hoping that the battle will end and they can begin to enjoy life without any troubles. That would be nice. But remember, we are exposed all our life to a malevolent and ruthless enemy who knows exactly how to get at us. The enemy knows how to discourage us, make us angry with each other, plant seeds of hostility between a husband and wife, and putting friction in a family and friends. Therefore, Paul tells us how to fight the good fight of faith. Paul instructs us to "Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, and stand in the evil day" (Ephesians 6:11).



DougHorton -> RE: man of God (8/7/2008 5:35:58 PM)

quote:

1. "Shun all this"
2. "Aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness"
3. "Fight the good fight of the faith."


Hmmm... That sounds very familiar. In Arabic, we call it jihad.

I think there is something missing which would make this approach uniquely Christian -- grace.

These are very good things to strive for, but not in order to attain God's favor, but because we already have God's favor.

Will God love me any more if I do these things?

Will God love me any less if I neglect these things?



J_Michael80 -> RE: man of God (8/7/2008 7:38:30 PM)

quote:

original: DougHorton

Hmmm.....That sounds very familiar. In Arabic, we call it jihad.


Unfortunately Doug, it came straight from the bible..........

"But flee from these things, O man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:11-12)

1. "Flee from these things"
2. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perserverance, and gentleness"
3. "Fight the good fight of faith"


Doug, you are a Calvinist, right? (I saw you in Reformed Theology). Well, so am I. Nevertheless, many Calvinists falsely believe that sin or no sin, they are just going straight to heaven because they were "predestined." As if sin or anything else for that matter is insignificant because of predestination. However, since the Calvinism theology is off-topic, please PM me if you wish to discuss this controversy.



bob97 -> RE: man of God (8/7/2008 11:30:35 PM)

Faithfulservant...you apparently do not believe in eternal salvation…or maybe I have misunderstood.

Bob



J_Michael80 -> Man of God (8/7/2008 11:44:31 PM)

quote:

original: bob97

Faithfulservant....you apparently do not believe in eternal salvation.....


Once again, my original post was becoming a man of God based on (1 Timothy 6:11-12). Nevertheless, just for the record, I believe that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. But this is off the topic, so I hope we can back to the Original Post.



PeterD -> RE: Man of God (8/8/2008 12:28:06 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: faithfulservant_

I wanted to create this thread after reading "Disciplines of a Godly Man" by Kent Hughes. What is a man of God? Paul addresses Timothy with this distinguished title, calling him, "O man of God" (1 Timothy 6:11-12). This is a remarkable word. In the Old Testament, this title was only reserved for the prophets. However, in the New Testament, only Timothy is addressed this way. So what does it mean to be a man of God in this world? There are 3 verbs here that mark what Paul commands Timothy to do:

1. "Flee from these things"
2. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness"
3. "Fight the good fight of the faith."

The first meaning is "flee these things." Usually in scripture we are told to flee certain things. For example, we are to "flee immorality" always! However, Paul in this verse is actually referring to what he has just covered in the previous paragraph in his word about false teachers. Timothy is to flee the 3 characteristics of false teachings:

1. conceit
2. combativeness
3. avarice, greed, the love of money, and the hunger for material gain

Next, Paul's second command is "pursue" or "follow after" which is the most important command. He lists six things to follow after:

1. righteousness
2. godliness
3. faithfulness
4. love
5. steadfastness
6. gentleness

The final verb is "Fight the good fight of faith." This recognizes the true nature of the Christian life. Many people have trouble in this area. They are always hoping that the battle will end and they can begin to enjoy life without any troubles. That would be nice. But remember, we are exposed all our life to a malevolent and ruthless enemy who knows exactly how to get at us. The enemy knows how to discourage us, make us angry with each other, plant seeds of hostility between a husband and wife, and putting friction in a family and friends. Therefore, Paul tells us how to fight the good fight of faith. Paul instructs us to "Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, and stand in the evil day" (Ephesians 6:11).


Hello faithfulservant_

Thank you for starting this thread.
Your writing style sounds like a pastor?

1 Peter 5:5

5Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

and also

Matthew 5:7

The Beatitudes
7"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Peter



JamesL5 -> RE: Man of God (8/8/2008 12:29:04 AM)

I'm sorry but I have to jump in here. How did you guys come up with Jihad and the denial of eternal life from the OP? I read this entire thread and I am totally mind boggled as to how you came with these assertions. Faithfulservant, I like your post, praise God!



J_Michael80 -> RE: Man of God (8/8/2008 5:57:29 AM)

quote:

original: PeterD

Hello faithfulservant_

Thank you for starting this thread.
Your writing style sounds like a pastor?


Thank you for those kind words and encouragement. I certainly do appreciate it! However, I am not a pastor. I grew up in a Church since both my parents were Christians. I have been attending Church ever since I was a baby. I received a B.A. at my University in Religious Studies. I was strongly recommended to go into pastorial ministry by all my friends but I do not believe that God has called me to be a pastor. Therefore, I chose a secular profession.



URForgiven -> RE: Man of God (8/8/2008 8:17:31 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: faithfulservant_

There are 3 verbs here that mark what Paul commands Timothy to do:

1. "Flee from these things"
2. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness"
3. "Fight the good fight of the faith."

The first meaning is "flee these things." Usually in scripture we are told to flee certain things. For example, we are to "flee immorality" always! However, Paul in this verse is actually referring to what he has just covered in the previous paragraph in his word about false teachers. Timothy is to flee the 3 characteristics of false teachings:

1. conceit
2. combativeness
3. avarice, greed, the love of money, and the hunger for material gain

Next, Paul's second command is "pursue" or "follow after" which is the most important command. He lists six things to follow after:

1. righteousness
2. godliness
3. faithfulness
4. love
5. steadfastness
6. gentleness



Where some see laws and regulations and commands, others see exhortations to be who we are and to grab hold of all we already have in Christ.

Peace



DougHorton -> RE: man of God (8/8/2008 11:26:57 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: faithfulservant_
Doug, you are a Calvinist, right? (I saw you in Reformed Theology). Well, so am I. Nevertheless, many Calvinists falsely believe that sin or no sin, they are just going straight to heaven because they were "predestined." As if sin or anything else for that matter is insignificant because of predestination. However, since the Calvinism theology is off-topic, please PM me if you wish to discuss this controversy.


That is neither here nor there. These are the very admonitions that define jihad in Islam. Perhaps you missed the part in my post that these exhortations must be accompanied with the message of grace. Whenever the Law is preached, it must be followed by the Gospel.



PeterD -> RE: man of God (8/8/2008 6:29:39 PM)

Hello family and friends!

John 13:31-35

A New Commandment
31When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."


1. righteousness
2. godliness
3. faithfulness
4. love
5. steadfastness
6. gentleness


2 John 1:1-6

Greeting
1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love
4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5And now I ask you, dear lady— not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning— that we love one another. 6And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.

Peter Daniel



LBolt -> RE: man of God (8/14/2008 5:53:57 PM)

It is my understanding that the term "man of God" is a preacher...someone in the 5-fold ministry office. Paul letter to Timothy was a personal letter we have privy to read. It's a letter giving advise to a young pastor on how he is to conduct himself and be a productive leader in the household of faith.



J_Michael80 -> RE: man of God (8/14/2008 7:53:38 PM)

LBolt,

That is partially correct. The letter to Timothy lays the basic foundation for ordaining elders and provides guidance for ordaining people into offices of the church. This is the first letter Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor who had been a help of Paul in his work. Paul’s first letter to Timothy amounts to an instruction book on leading, administrating, and pasturing the local church.

But in respect to the word man of God, this term was also used 77 times in the Old Testament. This was a respected title that was also applied to the prophets. It first appears in designation of Moses, the great prophet of God. The term man of God was also used of an angelic messenger, one who came in the form of a man to bring a message from God to the wife of Manoah. Then it was used again to designate Samuel himself as the man of God who spoke divine truth.

And there are also two other uses of the term man of God in the New Testament. In (2 Peter 1:21), Peter reflects back to the Old Testament prophets. However, in (2 Timothy 3:16-17), it is now broadened and used in a generic sense. Please take a close look at this verse: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness in order that......(here is the generic phrase)......the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Timothy is certainly the object in the context here since he is the recipient of the letter but his own conversion had already been mentioned in verses 14 and 15. Therefore the term man of God used in verse 17 is now broadened beyond Timothy to include any man of God. We can conclude then from (2 Timothy 3:16-17) that the man of God can embrace anyone who having been perfected by the Word is called to proclaim the Word.



LBolt -> RE: man of God (8/14/2008 9:18:52 PM)

I somewhat agree. Although the context is to Timothy and any pastor. I think what's often overlooked is the fact that not everyone owned a Bible or a Torah scroll/ TaNaKH in those days. You had to be very wealthy to purchase or have one made because it requires the slaughter of a lot of sheep or cattle. I tend to believe this term is tossed out too loosely these days. Men of God are men who are able "to shake heaven", they here from heaven and say what thus says the Lord with the authority inherit in the office.

I've seen too many people throw this term out, get lifted up in pride and operate in things they've never been called to. I am very hesistant to call someone a "man of God." It is a term of respect and is reserved for those who are call to equip the people of Elohim. This is my opinion.



Ezra -> RE: man of God (8/15/2008 5:00:44 AM)

quote:

What is a man of God?


faithfulservant:

You have tried to present what Paul says to Timothy in order to establish the meaning of "man of God", yet quite a few have attempted to derail this thread with unrelated issues. That's unfortunate and not really edifying.

What you have brought out is right there in the letters to Timothy for all to read and digest. However it would be rather limiting to apply these exhortations simply to pastors or elders.

Every Christian man is exhorted to be a "man of God" and if the term is used in a generic sense, it applies to "women of God" also. The virtues that Paul impresses upon Timothy are the graces which God desires in all His children, and are summed up in the fruits of the Spirit.

As to the battle, there is no question that every Christian is also portrayed as a soldier who must put on his or her "armor" daily and stand against the assaults of the devil.

In brief, a "man of God" is a person who reflects the likeness of Christ. That is what we have been predestined for -- to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is a lifelong endeavour. And that's where 2 Tim. 3:16,17 come in.



J_Michael80 -> RE: Man of God (8/15/2008 10:06:04 AM)

I wanted to say thank you to Ezra, Peter Daniel, and James L. Your words of encouragement and edification have been a blessing.



PeterD -> RE: Man of God (8/15/2008 11:47:54 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: faithfulservant_

I wanted to say thank you to Ezra, Peter Daniel, and James L. Your words of encouragement and edification have been a blessing. [:)]

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)


Hello Ezra,

I haven't spoken to you lately, forgive me, but faithfulservant_ placed us together. Hello James L. thank you for the correction,

I'm tired but not asleep, I'm in the LCMS group. This family I'm in is strong they have Jessica and I gathering with Jewish Christians and
a few converts from muslim who are very out spoken Christians.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Ezra, my friend you are a man of God!



faithfulservant_ do you walk in the Way of Love?

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

The Way of Love
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.



PeterD



Butterflytearz -> RE: Man of God (8/16/2008 1:56:13 PM)

A Godly man or woman will have power to produce fruit

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,



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