Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Timothy 4:6

"If thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast followed [until now]:" — 1 Timothy 4:6 (ASV)

If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things. Of the truths just stated. They are, therefore, proper subjects to preach on. It is the duty of the ministry to show to the people of their charge what error is and where it may be perceived, and to caution them to avoid it.

Nourished up in the word of faith. That is, you will then be "a good minister of Jesus Christ, as becomes one who has been nourished up in the words of faith, or trained up in the doctrines of religion." The apostle evidently intends to remind Timothy of the manner in which he had been trained, and to show him how he might act in accordance with that. From one who had been thus educated, it was reasonable to expect that he would be a faithful and exemplary minister of the gospel.

Whereunto thou hast attained. The word used here means, properly, to accompany side by side; to follow closely; to follow out, trace, or examine. It is rendered shall follow, in Mark 16:17; having had understanding, in Luke 1:3; and hast fully known, in 2 Timothy 3:10. It does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament.

The meaning here seems to be that Timothy had followed out the doctrines in which he had been trained to their legitimate results; he had accurately seen and understood their bearing, as leading him to embrace the Christian religion. His early training in the Scriptures of the Old Testament (2 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:15), he had now fully carried out by embracing the Lord Jesus as the Messiah and by evincing the proper results of the early teaching he had received in connection with that religion.

If he now followed the directions of the apostle, he would be a minister of the Lord Jesus, worthy of the attainments in religious knowledge which he had made and of the expectations which had been formed of him. No young man should, by neglect, indolence, or folly, disappoint the reasonable expectations of his friends.

Their cherished hopes are a proper ground of appeal to him, and it may be properly demanded of everyone that he shall carry out to their legitimate results all the principles of his early training, and that he shall be in his profession all that his early advantages make it reasonable to expect that he will be.