Flee These Things and Pursue These Things – 1 Timothy 6:11-16

Paul is giving us another category, or more terminology, for our spiritual growth, when he instructs Timothy.  Fleeing and pursuing.  We may say this is another aspect of the paradox of spiritual growth.

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.  (1 Timothy 6:11-16 ESV)

Timothy’s greatest need in combating falsehood is to be godly himself.  Godliness requires two equal actions: Fleeing and Pursuing.  We must flee the things that would pull us toward egotism, power lust and love of money (the things that draw the false teachers).  We must pursue the things that encourage the development of the character of God in us.

In line with pursuing is taking hold of our eternal life, that is, counting on its truth, meditating on its meaning and value, and confessing it again and again before others.  Also in line with pursuing is keeping God’s commands with Jesus as our example.

The motivation for all of this is the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, of whom it may be equally said that they are the blessed and only sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords.  They alone have immortality (always were and always will be and able to give us a derived immortality), they alone dwell in unapproachable light and cannot be seen (though Jesus has a human nature and his body is quite visible).  They alone deserve honor and eternal dominion.  And they are coming at the proper time to re-establish the kingdom on earth.