A note from our Pastor:

”For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

1 Timothy 4:8

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

Sometimes when we read and study scripture we come to a verse or passage of scripture we find challenging. Sometimes the challenge is resolved by understanding the verse better. However, other times the conflict cannot be easily resolved because it is rooted in being contrary to what culture and society teaches. Our study verse this week has often been joked about or skipped over because of this exact reason.

What does the Apostle Paul mean here by “bodily exercise profiteth little”? Keep in mind the Apostle is focused on false teachings and fables. In this instance, the phrase used refers back to the false teachings that can be classified as false ascetics. At the time of this writing, those included the forbidding of marriage and abstaining from eating certain meats. In other words, the false teachings the Apostle was focused on were those which tried to control the body.

In other times during the history of Christianity the disciples saw other teachings arise which would fall into this category. Things as mundane seeming as the “church” dictating how men could wear their hair and what clothes women could wear to worship. In other instances, it was controlling activities such as not allowing dancing or the consumption of any alcohol. At its furthest reaches, it was the “church” dictating who a person could marry or how the death of the body was handled (burial or cremation).

The point the Apostle is making in this verse is to consider the impact of these teachings. Those false teachings focused on controlling the body, while they may appear to be scriptural or even spiritual, have very little positive benefit. Even more so, they distract from focusing on godliness. For every minute spent focused on a false teaching is a minute taken away from exploring the mysteries of godliness.

Finally, the Apostle makes this point — the truth of Jesus Christ addresses both this life and the eternity which is yet to come. Disciples do not need to create extra-scriptural teachings to address how to live this life, but rather need to return to the basics of what Christ taught. Those which seek to follow the commandments of the New Testament do not need rules for living imposed upon them.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah