Sermon or Lesson:  1 Timothy 6:13-16 (NIV based)
[Lesson Questions included]

TITLE:  Worthy Of You Living An Unblemished Godly Life

INTRO:  As we live out our life, what aspects, conditions, or situations come along and are powerful enough or impacting enough to motivate us to change how we live?  Certainly, danger or potential of harm or loss is one condition that can motivate us to change.  Another is potential of reward.  But what about worthiness?  Can the worthiness of some other person motivate us to change how we live?  Yes, it does - sometimes..., such as the arrival of a newborn child, or a debilitating illness of a family member.
     Now, what about God?  Can or should or does any worthiness that God may deserve motivate us to change how we live?  Let's study this topic more closely.
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READ:  1 Timothy 6:13-16, with vv.10-12 for context

BACKGROUND:
- - Every pastor, elder, and ministry leader, along with every believer, is to consistently stay away from wanting to get rich, and instead be completely devoted to thoroughly pursuing and implementing the virtues of the faith in their life.  (v.11)
- - Consistently maintaining genuine godly virtues and tenaciously living by an eternal perspective are vital for being a true "man [or woman] of God" - one who successfully "fights the good fight of the faith", even in the midst of relentless surrounding pressure and opposition to the contrary.  (vv.12,11)

vv.13-15a - READ

[Lesson Question:  What is being imposed here in verses 13-15a, and upon whom?  Describe.]

SECTION POINT:  Every pastor, elder, and ministry leader, along with every believer, is charged to keep the command cited in verses 11-12, like Christ Jesus perfectly modeled even in the midst of severe persecution.

- - "In the sight of God", which includes "Christ Jesus", and with the authority from God as apostle (v.1:1), Paul charges pastor Timothy to flawlessly "keep" the "command" given in previous verses 6:11-12.
- - Pastor Timothy is herein ordered to "flee from" striving after wealth (vv.11,9-10) and instead pursue the godly virtues (v.11) so that he will live the life and do the things that God has called him to do (v.12).
- - Certainly, this command is ordered and imposed upon all pastors, elders, and ministry leaders - "you, man of God".  (v.11)
- - And likewise, all true believers are called to live their life in this manner.  (v.12)

- - The authority of God is behind this command, because as the Creator, the deity who "gives life to everything", God has the right to issue such a command to the humans He created.
- - Furthermore, God Himself, in the form of the God-man Christ Jesus, perfectly lived, demonstrated, and modeled the keeping of the commands of God, which includes even while He was on trial before "Pontius Pilate" and "testifying" "the good confession" of the faith right before He was about to be brutally tortured and executed by crucifixion on a cross.  (cf. John 18:36-37)
- - In the same way that Christ Jesus kept the commands of God and "made the good confession", so too are all of us believers, pastors, elders, and ministry leaders to keep this command, and "without spot or blame" throughout our time on earth, until our Lord Jesus Christ physically returns someday in the future at the time of God's choosing.
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vv.15b-16 - READ

[Lesson Question:  Analyze and describe the characteristics and attributes of God cited in verses 15-16.]

SECTION POINT:  As deity and creator, God is worthy of our honor - forever.

- - The appearing of the Lord "of us", the "supreme in authority" Jesus Christ, "will reveal" the only Ruler, who is blessed or possesses the "divine nature".  (in v.14 - Strong's #2962, #2257; in v.15 - Strong's #1166; from Zodhiates #3107, p.937)
- - God is in control over His creation, and He implements aspects of His program within His creation how and when He so chooses - "will bring about in his own time".
- - God "gives life to everything" (v.13) in His creation, over which He is the "only Ruler" or "Sovereign".  (Strong's #1413)
- - God is the highest King and the highest Lord, being supreme over all kings and all lords.
- - God is the only one who is immortal, living continuously forever and unable to die or cease to live.
- - God (the Father) lives and exists in light that is unapproachable, making Himself incapable of ever being seen by any "human".  (Strong's #0444, omitted in NIV; cf. John 1:18)
- - This attribute of unapproachable light seems to represent God's extreme and intense holiness, which vehemently repulses sinfulness.
- - God retains honor and "power" "perpetually in the past, and in the present, and in the future".  (Strong's #2904, #0166)
- - As a result of these and other divine attributes that God possesses, He is forever worthy of our praise, honor, worship, and glory.  Amen and "so be it".  (Strong's #0281)
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IMPLICATIONS:

[Lesson Question:  Using various principles cited from within and surrounding these verses 13-16, construct a cohesive sequential overview line of thinking that captures and summarizes what is being stated here.]

SECTION POINT:  As deity and creator, God is furthermore worthy of our unblemished godly living for our entire life.

Let's consider the contents of these verses from a larger and overall perspective:
- - God exists, the only infinite divine immortal Being.  (vv.15-16)
- - God creates everything else that exists, which includes humans.  (v.13)
- - Among that which God created in the physical realm, humans are uniquely created with advanced intelligence, part of which includes being enabled to make moral choices.  (vv.11-12)
- - As part of God's plan, humans are put to the test during their life by being exposed to a multitude of choices.  (v.9 for example)
- - The most important and most pivotal choices that humans are exposed to pertain to determining and acknowledging God for who He is and for what He requires of us humans.  (vv.13-14 for example)
- - As we humans proceed through life, making various choices throughout each day, within each choice we in essence choose in favor of what we want or in favor of what God wants.  (v.14)
- - Choosing what we want is easy and comes natural.  (vv.9-10 for example)
- - Choosing what God wants has been intentionally designed by God to be more challenging and unnatural for us, requiring and testing numerous virtues, some of which are "righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness", perseverance, obedience, self-denial, and etc.  (vv.11,14)
- - And furthermore, choosing what God wants requires consistently and continuously functioning at a very high level and standard, "keeping [His] commands without spot or blame" for the entirety of our life.  (v.14)
- - As we humans live our life and make choices daily, through our resulting lives we can either bring honor to our Creator and bear good witness of Him and the faith to other humans around us (vv.16,12), or we can bring dishonor to our Creator and bear disrepute of Him and the faith to other humans around us (vv.5:14; 6:10,12).
- - But as the giver of eternal life (v.12) to those of us humans who genuinely believe in Christ Jesus, God deserves our unblemished obedience, and for the entirety of our life (v.14).
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BIG IDEA:  God, being deity and creator, rightly expects and commands and deserves that every pastor, elder, and ministry leader, along with every believer, consistently and continuously live a godly life that is spotless and blameless.

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APPLICATIONS:

- - During this recent part of your life, have you been consistently and continuously living in godliness, "without spot or blame"?  If not, why not?
-- What specific steps can you take to fix this deficiency or improve your godliness and productivity for God's Kingdom, starting right now?
- - - - Change occupations?
- - - - Sell some of your property and possessions?
- - - - End or reduce some of your business dealings and activities?
- - - - End or reduce some of your employment obligations and functioning?
- - - - Move to a smaller house or apartment?
- - - - Terminate an addiction or destructive habit?
- - - - Cancel your Internet subscription so you will not be tempted to look at pornography?
- - - - Clean out and throw away all vile music and movies that you own and ingest?
- - - - Start attending a weekly Bible study?
- - - - Consistently have a daily personal devotional time with God?
- - - - Get a different translation of the Bible that you can understand better, like the New International Version?
- - - - Terminate going to sinful social events, and instead cultivate going to a church home group?
- - - - Volunteer in a ministry?
- - - - Take a class or course on how to do evangelism, and then start using what you have learned?
- - - - Find a worthy missionary, or Internet sermon writer, or Bible college student to support or assist?
- - - - Thoroughly study 1 John 1:9, Romans 6:10-13, and Psalm 1:1-2, and then fully implement each of the principles in those verses in your life every day.

- - For those of you who are not a true believer, if God (the Father) is so extremely holy that none of even His dearly-loved and completely-forgiven believers can ever see Him, then how do you think His extreme holiness will affect His treatment of you on Judgment Day - you who are un-forgiven and bathed in countless numbers and kinds of sins?
- - If God's attribute of unapproachable light represents how He is vehemently repulsed to sinfulness, then what do you think that might indicate about how He will respond and relate to you on Judgment Day, when you never had your sins washed away by the blood of Jesus applied to them?  (1 John 1:7)
- - If you are disturbed and alarmed by this news of the impending reality that awaits you, then good!  (cf. John 1:18)
- - After this meeting, come and talk with me.  I will be glad to explain to you from Romans 3:20-25a how you can get your sins washed away by the blood of Jesus applied to them.
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[Additional Lesson Question to ponder (optional, if time allows):
- - If God (the Father) is so extremely holy that none of even His dearly-loved and completely-forgiven believers can ever see Him, then what would you expect His reaction will be to believers on Judgment Day who during their life got saved but subsequently lived a carnal life, and being deficient of godliness and good deeds for the Kingdom?]
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Works Cited:
Bible. “The Holy Bible: New International Version.” The Bible Library CD-ROM. Oklahoma City, OK: Ellis Enterprises, 1988.

“Strong's Greek Dictionary.” The Bible Library CD-ROM. Oklahoma City, OK: Ellis Enterprises, 1988.

Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 1992.
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Translation used: NIV, quoted or referred to in various places within this document
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Updated:  January 20, 2018