When instructing Timothy about how to conduct himself as a young pastor, Paul wrote, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16 (NIV)). The definition of the word “watch,” according to Louw-Nida is, “to be in a continuous state of readiness to learn of any future danger, need, or error, and to respond appropriately—‘to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on one’s guard against.’” The verb already has a continuous aspect to it, but Paul emphasizes this further by using a present imperative, as if he is saying, “Continually be in a continuous state of readiness.” Obviously, Paul is anticipating many different opportunities and dangers for Timothy and the congregations he serves, so he impresses upon the young pastor just how important it is for him to be ready—always.
In what areas should Timothy stay continually ready for all the opportunities and dangers? Paul stresses two. The NIV translates, “your life and doctrine,” but the Greek literally reads, “yourself and the teaching/doctrine.” Then Paul emphasizes the ongoing importance of being ready in these two areas by writing, “Remain in the them.” Once again, as might be expected, Paul uses the present imperative to stress the need for Timothy to give this constant attention. In fact, if this weren’t enough, Paul intensifies the normal word for “remain,” for further emphasis.
Though it may sound a little strange to our ears, it is worth putting the literal translation together to give an overall sense of the intensity of Paul’s command to Timothy:
Continually be in a continuous state of readiness with regard to yourself and the teaching, continually really remaining in them!
One can easily see just how important this command is to Paul and how much he longs for Timothy to follow it at all times.
And what will be the result of Timothy’s uber-readiness? Literally, “For, through doing this, both yourself you will save and those who are hearing you.” The result of ongoing attention to these two areas will result in salvation for Timothy and the people to whom he is ministering. In other words: the stakes are high. We aren’t talking about having a little better health or a little more money; we are talking about total rescue from an eternity of damnation for an eternity of joy with our Savior. This is why Paul tells Timothy that it is absolutely critical to continually be ready for any opportunity or danger with regard to himself and the teaching.
So, let’s consider “himself” and “the teaching” briefly. Many Christian leaders have noted that “himself” (or “life” as it’s translated in the NIV) is stated first, followed by “the teaching.” From that word order, they conclude that Paul was emphasizing Timothy’s life first as if it is more important than doctrine or as if Timothy spent a little too much time on the doctrine and not enough on his life. But it doesn’t seem that much of a grammatical case could be made for this. In fact, such an interpretation may be driven more by the interpreter’s personal experience than by the text itself. However, it is clear that “himself and the teaching” are placed side-by-side in balance.
No one would contest that our training system puts a strong emphasis on doctrinal training. And while there are probably areas where we could review how we do doctrinal training, most of us would agree that our Seminary students get what they need to be pastors who can stand on their own two feet in the truth.
However, an important question for us to ponder is this: are we giving each student adequate training when it comes to “constantly being in a state of readiness with regard to yourself”?
Reference:
Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996 : 332. Print.